System and method for automating the management, routing, and control of multiple devices and inter-device connections

ABSTRACT

A system and method for managing, routing and controlling devices and inter-device connections located within an environment to manage and control the environment using a control client is presented. A user configures a presentation environment into one or more sub-environments, restricts access to one or more devices of a presentation sub-environment, or schedules one or more resources within a presentation sub-environment.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a system and method for controlling, managing and routing data among multiple devices that are sources or consumers of streaming data and control devices present in a given environment in a hardware independent manner. In one embodiment, audiovisual data streams and other controllable devices in a presentation environment are controlled by the present system and method. Other embodiments allow users to reconfigure the controllable devices across multiple spaces within an environment and distribute and allocate shared resources within a given environment to specified sub-environments as requested. In still other embodiments, the system and method reconfigures itself based on specific user credentials to provide a customized user interface and performs specified configuration and operational tasks for the control, management, and routing of data between devices within an environment based on the user credentials. The present invention comprises a server adapted to communicate with and command devices in an environment to establish interconnections or links between the devices as well as a means for a user to command and control the devices in order to have a tangible change in the environment.

SUMMARY DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

A system and method for managing and routing interconnections between devices connected via controllable switching devices and controlling the operation of the devices in a given user environment for the purpose of controlling and coordinating the operation of the user environment is presented. One embodiment of the present system and method is directed to the control of audio visual (A/V) and presentation environment control and sensing devices, and the routing and management of A/V information between generator or source devices and consumer or output devices. Source devices generate A/V data, A/V data streams, or more generally a signal that is delivered to consumer or output devices. The output devices receive the A/V data and in many cases render the A/V data in a form that is perceptible in the environment, for example one output device is a projector that would render the A/V data in a form that is visible to persons in the portion of the environment that is in proximity to the projector. The output devices are also referred to in some circumstances as consumer devices meaning that they accept information or other flows from the interconnection established with the source devices and in the case of an A/V environment they consume the A/V data.

The environment where the devices, connections and other controllable devices are located is referred to generically as a user environment. A type of user environment for A/V facilities is commonly referred to as a presentation environment. The presentation environment may span several physical rooms, buildings, or even multiple locations in geographically disparate locations depending on the circumstances and use of the system. The presentation environment in some embodiments comprises multiple spaces or sub-environments, each of which are individually configurable, and one or more devices that span the multiple spaces that can be accessed from within one of such multiple spaces.

It is clear to one of ordinary skill in the art that a system for managing, routing, and controlling multiple streams of A/V data and other device communication and control signals is applicable to any system associated with an environment that requires the management, routing, and control of interconnections by and between different source devices and consumer devices as well as communication and control of a variety of devices in such environment. A non-exhaustive example of an alternative use for an embodiment of the present system and method is for a distributed data acquisition and control system whereby multiple sensors are distributed through a given facility or vehicle. The information from these sensors, such as accelerometers, are streams of data, similar in nature to a stream of A/V data. The consumers of the information generated by the sensors can be recording instruments and local feedback controllers that then actuate control lines to activate actuators that change the characteristics or states of the facility or vehicle.

One embodiment of the present system and method is used to manage, route and control these streams of information generated by sensors and consumed by recording instruments and local feedback controllers as well as other control signals. In another embodiment, the present system and method is used to manage, route and control integrated building systems to provide a full spectrum of building services ranging from heating, ventilating and air conditioning through radiation management, security and fire and safety systems. In still another embodiment the system is used to route, manage interconnections and control devices in a manufacturing or chemical process facility to coordinate and control the production of various products.

Although a majority of this disclosure is written in context of A/V systems and establishing connections by and between A/V devices and other discrete controllable devices to effect an A/V presentation environment, as these non-exhaustive examples show, one of ordinary skill in the art can use the present system and method for managing, routing, and controlling a variety of different types of devices and establishing connections between those devices for many different streams, including streams of A/V data, other types of signals, flows of fluids or movement of objects or products.

Multiple embodiments of a system and method for controlling multiple sources and sinks of A/V data streams and controlling specific devices is presented herein. Those of ordinary skill in the art can readily use this disclosure to create alternative embodiments using the teaching contained herein. The system and method of the present invention further solves the problems associated with the configuration of multiple devices present in an arbitrary environment whereby routes or paths must be configured by and between the devices to allow information to flow from device to device through the environment while simultaneously controlling the operation of selected devices within the environment, including without limitation the operation of detached devices that effect the environment, but are otherwise not directly connected to other devices in the environment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying figures depict multiple embodiments of the system and method for routing, controlling, and managing streams of data and more particularly streams of audio visual information. A brief description of each figure is provided below. Elements with the same reference numbers in each figure indicate identical or functionally similar elements. Additionally, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the drawings in which the reference number first appears.

FIG. 1a is a block diagram outlining the physical architecture of an embodiment of the present system and method for audio visual (“A/V”) control and integration.

FIG. 1b is diagram depicting a signal level diagram of an embodiment of an A/V system.

FIG. 1c is a depiction of a control or command level diagram of an embodiment of an A/V system.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram highlighting the logical components of an embodiment directed to the management, routing and control of audio visual and presentation environment control devices.

FIG. 3 is a component diagram of an embodiment of the server architecture.

FIG. 4 is a component diagram of an embodiment of the control client architecture.

FIG. 5 is an embodiment of a first logical arrangement of a control client user interface for editing scenes.

FIG. 6 is an embodiment of a second logical arrangement of a control client user interface for playing a predefined presentation.

FIG. 7 is an embodiment of a third logical arrangement of a control client user interface for controlling a presentation.

FIG. 8 is a rendered embodiment of a control client user interface showing the second logical arrangement.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are a data model of an embodiment of the system.

FIG. 10 is a depiction of a control or command level diagram of a second exemplary environment.

FIG. 11 is a depiction of a signal level diagram of the second exemplary environment shown in FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram detailing the configuration process for the system upon installation of devices in the environment or other additions of equipment to the environment.

FIG. 13 is a first portion of an exemplary route map.

FIG. 14 is a depiction of multiple presentation sub-environments within a given presentation environment.

FIG. 15 is a rendered embodiment of a control client user interface showing one embodiment of a quick control.

FIG. 16 is a rendered embodiment of a group definition user interface.

FIG. 17 is a rendered embodiment of a user interface for selecting a desired device from a logical pooled device group.

FIG. 18 is a rendered embodiment of an access control user interface.

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Audio Visual Control System Architecture

FIG. 1a depicts multiple representations of an embodiment of the present system and method for audio visual control and integration in one embodiment of an exemplary physical configuration of a presentation environment 110, as shown in FIG. 1a . In this exemplary configuration, the server 100 comprises a first communication interface adapted to communicate with a remotely connected control client 102. The control client 102 is adapted to accept information from the server 100 to render or create on the control client 102 a user interface. The user interface enables a user to manage, route and control the flow of A/V data between different sources 120, output devices 130, and control or switch devices 140, and the communication and control of other detached devices or environment devices 142, not present in the routing and control of the flow of A/V data such as environment sensors and actuators that are associated with the presentation environment 110 (all collectively referred to herein as “devices” 270) located within or associated with the presentation environment 110. Although the server is shown external to the presentation environment 110 in FIG. 1a , in other embodiments the server 100 is physically located within the presentation environment 110 or provided as an integral element of one of the devices 270.

Specifically, in the case of the embodiment depicted in FIG. 1a , the server 100 and the control client 102 are connected via a network 118. A network 118 as defined in this specification is any transmission medium that supports a protocol allowing communication by and between devices connected to the network as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. One example of a network 118 is the Internet which utilizes the TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) protocol, but the term network 118 as defined is also meant to include local access networks (LANs), wireless LANs, a multi-device serial network, and any other computer communication network, including various forms of powerline networking and X10 type networks. In still another embodiment, a first communication interface allows point-to-point communication between the server 100 and the control client 102 using a serial interface, point-to-point modem, or similar types of point-to-point communication devices and protocols known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

The server 100 in this embodiment is connected via the network 118 to a communication transceiver 114, for example a terminal server. The communication transceiver 114 converts physical communication mediums and logical protocols without altering the message being carried, thereby allowing commands sent in one communications format which is suitable to the sender to be converted into another communication format suitable for the receiver. In this case a command issued by the server 100 via TCP/IP over an Ethernet network 118 is converted to the same command sent over a point-to-point RS-232/RS-485 serial link, which becomes a control signal 116 that is input to a device 270. Any communication sent from a device 270, for example an acknowledgement sent by the device 270 back to the server 110, is similarly reconverted by the communication transceiver 114. The communication transceiver 114 thus provides a second communication interface for the server 100 allowing commands and information to be exchanged between the server 100 and devices 270 associated with the presentation environment 110.

In alternative embodiments, the communication transceiver 114 is eliminated and a direct communication linkage, such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) link, is established from the server 100 to a device 270 to be controlled. In another embodiment, the server 100 communicates directly with network capable devices 270 over the computer network 118. In another embodiment, the server 100 communicates with a variety of devices 270 using a communication transceiver 114 for a subset of devices 270, direct communication for another subset of devices 270, and communication over a network 118 to yet another subset of devices 270. In still another embodiment, the server 100 communicates with the devices 270 using a wireless communication protocol, for example, infrared or visual/near-visual optical communication or radio frequency wireless protocols such as RF, Bluetooth, WiFi/802.11x, WiMax, and Zigbee and others known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1a , the control signals 116 output from the communication transceiver 114 are used to control multiple devices 270 including a switch 170 and second switch 158. The control signals 116 select streams of audio video data coming from a variety of sources 120 and route them to a variety of output devices 130. The switch 170 functions as an electronic patch panel that allows inputs to the switch 170 to be selectively routed or directed to selected outputs from the switch 170. In this embodiment the switch 170 supports a single type of video input, namely RGB (Red-Green-Blue color) signals, and an audio input. Source devices 120 that have RGB outputs, such as laptop computers 150, can be directly connected to the switch 170. Non-RGB sources 120 are input instead to the second switch 158. The use of a second switch 158 in this embodiment supports the various types of non-RGB signals, for example S-Video, Composite, or Component video signals from sources 120 such as a DVD 154 and a VCR 156. The outputs from the second switch 158 are then converted to RGB signals using an RGB converter 160 before being input to the switch 170. The RGB converter 160 in other embodiments can be integrated into the second switch 158. Any of these sources 120 of A/V information can be routed to any of the attached output devices 130 such as a monitor 162 or projector 164 through appropriate commands issued by the server 100 to the switch 170 and second switch 158.

Other embodiments allow geographically or physically dispersed locations to be accessed and controlled from a single server 100. For example in one embodiment a transceiver 114 located in one portion of a presentation environment 110 is used to address devices 270 located in that one portion of the presentation environment 110 while the server 100 is located at a geographically remote second location that is separated from the one portion of the presentation environment 110 and only accesses the one portion of the presentation environment 110 via the transceiver 114 or direct links to the devices 270 in that one portion of the presentation environment 110. In still another alternative embodiment, high-speed data connections between locations and additional devices 270 for compressing, decompressing, and forwarding audio video and control information between locations are used to allow the physical separation of source devices 120 from output devices 130 across longer distances thus allowing geographically distributed management, routing and control of an integrated presentation environment 110 spread across a number of dispersed locations. Even in a unitary presentation environment 110, for example a presentation environment 110 comprising a number of rooms within a single building, it is common to include switching and converter equipment such as the RGB Converter 160 to transform high definition (HD) video signal signals in either analog or digital formats such as the analog Component Y/Pb/Pr format and digital High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) into other standards suitable for display on non-HD devices for example. The reverse can be implemented to support old signal formats on new HD devices. Similarly, converters for playing audio on existing audio systems 144 can also be supplied for new analog and digital audio standards and associated interfaces, including but not limited to the AC-3, Dolby® Digital® 5.1 and 7.1 standards and S/PDIF interfaces.

Each of the links drawn between specific elements of the presentation environment 110 represent static connections that exist in the presentation environment 110. The topology of these static connections are stored as part of the server's 100 configuration for a given presentation environment 110 as an environment model that represents the devices 270 and other details of the presentation environment 110. The server 100 is configured with information regarding the types of connections that can be made and the equipment or devices 270 available in the presentation environment, such as one or more switches 170, that enables the server 100 to make those connections and route the information between the individual devices such as the DVD player 154 and the projector 164. The switches 170 create interconnections that associate or connect the various static connections, thereby creating a path or a linkage between devices 270 allowing them to communication by and between each other. An interconnection in some embodiments possesses attributes associated with the type of static connections that are linked together. For example a static connection linking an RGB output port from a source device 120 to a switch 170 is associated as carrying a video signal by virtue of the ports, or nodes on a given device 270 that are linked together. The specific interconnections established between devices 270 as well as the device control and the device state attributes, or device configuration, associated with a specific presentation environment 110 state are referred and stored in the server 100 as scenes. A scene thus creates a representation, or state model, of the devices 270 in the environment 110. The use of scenes to define various device states allows a user to rapidly recreate a given environment state, representing specific device states and interconnections, by retrieving a specific scene.

In the embodiments of the present system and method adapted for use managing and controlling A/V environments, the term scene is used to generically describe something that in other environments might be referred to as a macro. Effectively a scene represents a group of events or commands that are issued to the devices 270, including queries of device states, necessary to configure a specific user environment in a desired manner. Similarly, a presentation, which represents groups of scenes, can be considered a grouping of macros.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1a , the server 100 issues control signals to the communication transceiver 114 that manipulate specific devices 270 in the presentation environment 110 to create a specific room configuration or state. As part of a particular configuration of the state of the presentation environment 110, the devices 270 are manipulated to create specific routing between different source devices 120 and output device 130. Further, the control signals transferred through the communication transceiver 114 can also be sent to specific sources or source devices 120 and output devices 130 in order to configure, monitor, or control specific information associated with those source devices 120 and output devices 130. Further, control signals output from the communication transceiver 114 can also be attached to other physical actuators, sensors, or other systems such as lighting control modules or motor controls associated with projection screens and windows coverings, generically referred to as, environmental controls, environmental sensors, or environment devices 142. These environment devices are also referred to alternatively as detached devices, meaning that the devices sensor or influence the environment, but they are not a part of the routing of signals through the environment. Using these environmental controls 142, in the embodiment shown, the server 100 is capable to adjusting lighting and other aspects of the presentation environment 110. Thus, the server 100 is able to issue commands through the communication transceiver 114 to manage, route and control the flow of A/V information and actuate environment controls 142 located within specific rooms and other spaces located in the presentation environment 110 in a manner that allows the presentation environment to be readily reconfigured and controls in a variety of ways.

Types of Connections

For an A/V system, there are typically three types of connections to be made:

Video;

Audio; and,

Control.

The first of two of these types are the signal levels and can be grouped together on the same diagram as shown in FIG. 1b . The control or command level can be depicted separately as shown in FIG. 1c . The architecture of the present system and method allows the separation of command communication from the data or signal communication links. This separation is useful in certain circumstances to ensure that command communications are not hindered or interrupted by the flow of data in the environment.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1b , the audio and video signal level connections are made between the different sources of video and audio information such as a webcam 180, a satellite receiver 182, a DVD player 154, a set-top box 184, or audio video data from a second switch 158, and output devices, in this FIG. 1b , there is a single consumer or output device 130, a video projector 164. The connection between these multiple sources of A/V data and the output device is through a switch 170. The control or command level schematic shown in FIG. 1c enables the server 100 to control the operation of the switch 170 and the plurality of A/V sources 120 and output devices 130 in the presentation environment 110 by passing commands through a network 118 to a communication transceiver 114 that translates the commands issued by the server into specific control signals 116 output from the communication transceiver 114 to the sources 120, output devices 130, and the switch 170. By use of a communication transceiver 114, the server 100 is abstracted from the actual physical medium or protocol used by the devices 270 for controlling the flow of signals through the presentation environment 110, such as switches 170, sources 120 and sinks 130 of information or for controlling the environment controls 142. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1a and FIG. 1c , the communication transceiver 114 converts commands from the server 100 to device specific control signals 116. The types of control device connections can in alternative embodiments include a number of connections known to those of ordinary skill in the art including but not limited to the following exemplary connections: RS-232/RS-485 serial ports, Ethernet, Universal Serial Bus (USB), Infrared such as IrDA, RF, and other wireless connections.

Although the embodiments depicted in FIG. 1a , FIG. 1b , and FIG. 1c depict a single communication transceiver 114, multiple communication transceivers 114 can be spread throughout a facility, or even multiple physically disparate locations to enable the server 100 to control multiple A/V environments with only the need to connect to them via an IP network 118 such as the Internet or company Intranet. In this manner it is possible for a single server 100, operated by a single client 102 to control a broad environment and effectively control multiple A/V presentation environments 110 in physically isolated locations and manage the experiences of people in each of those presentation environments 110.

Hardware System

FIG. 2 is a block diagram highlighting the logical components of one embodiment of the present system and method adapted for audio visual device management, routing and control. Specifically the present system and method is structured as client/server control application. The server application, generally referred to as the server 100, operates on a general purpose computing platform, such as a Windows or Linux platform, maintains a database 202 or other data store that stores details describing the control environment and its configuration, and issues the control commands in response to commands sent from the control client 102. The control client 102, also known as a control panel provides a means for controlling the system through a user interface, a graphical user interface or other application to enable control of devices 270 in the presentation environment 110. In some embodiments the control client 102 includes the ability to use of preset and saved system states, which are referred to as scenes and to enable groups of scenes to be presented in sequence, which are referred to as presentations.

Server

The server 100, provides a location for the control and storage of multiple components and elements of the present system and method. In the embodiments depicted, the server 100 is shown as a single unitary machine that can interface with multiple control clients 102 and presentation environments 110. In alternative embodiments, the server 100 can be a multiplicity of physical machines working redundantly enabling hot-swap or fail safe capabilities across a network 118 or alternatively distributing computing and processing loads. In still another embodiment, the elements of the server 100 are distributed such that individual elements or components are distributed to different locations across a network 118. In one alternative embodiment a dedicated server 100 can be used solely as a server for the database 202 that hosts the application data 204 while one or more additional servers 100 connect to the database 202 via the dedicated server 100.

Server Functions

Some exemplary high-level functions of an embodiment of the server 100 include:

-   -   Manages users and user access.     -   Maintains lists of all devices and their configuration settings.     -   Maintains lists of presentation spaces or rooms and all devices         available to each presentation space.     -   Maintains all information relating to scenes and presentations.     -   Provides control of all devices through classes and         configuration information.     -   Maintains schedules of all presentations and prevents conflicts         in scheduling for all devices.

In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 2, the server 100 is a computer running the Linux operating system. Although this embodiment the server is operating in a Linux based environment, a variety of different operating systems such as Windows and others can be used by one of ordinary skill in the art. The server 100 runs a web server 200 program to interface with control clients 102 to receive information and commands, provide feedback, implement the application rules necessary to run the system and perform the functions described herein, in addition to communicating with the presentation environment 110.

Web Server Component

The server 100 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 has a web server 200 for Java-based web applications, in this embodiment a Tomcat server. A Tomcat server is a Java-based web application container to run servlets and javaserver pages (JSP) for creating dynamic, web-enabled applications. Although the web server 200 shown in this embodiment is a Tomcat server, alternative methods of implementing the system and method disclosed herein are apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 2, the means for implementing the control server, shown as atmospherics.war 240 in the diagram, is deployed via the tomcat application or web server 200.

Database

The database 202 implements a data model 900, an embodiment of which is depicted in FIG. 9. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 2 and FIG. 9, the database 202 is a relational database, and more specifically a PostgresSQL relational database. In alternative embodiments, the database 202 can be implemented using a multiplicity of methods known to those of ordinary skill in the art including using object-oriented or associative databases or other data structures. Regardless of the type of database 202 used, the embodiment of the data structure depicted in FIG. 9 will provide a guide as to types of information stored within the database 202.

Many types of information are shown the embodiment of the data model 900 shown in FIG. 9 stored in the database 202. Some specific types of information are highlighted below:

-   -   User information 902—that stores both individual user settings         and preferences and works in conjunction with the access control         level permissioning 904 to enable users to access specific         configuration options, capabilities and system rights.     -   User Interface Widgets 906—defines the specific user interface         widget proto-elements that are linked to a device configuration         and are integrated to create a set of controls and other user         interface objects to be rendered on the control client 102. For         example, the volume up-down element 880 can be considered an         example of a user interface widget. In some embodiments selected         User Interface Widgets 906 are selected by a user or         administrator to be displayed on selected user interface screens         to provide quick controls for manipulating selected attributes         of a device 270 directly from a presentation screen as depicted         in FIG. 15.     -   Device configuration 908—handles information regarding the         devices 270, including output devices and source devices and         control devices to be controlled by the system and method. In         another embodiment, the device configuration 908 includes         details of virtual devices or device 270 characteristics to         emulate devices that are not physically connected to the         presentation environment 110 or shared devices that are not         currently available within the presentation sub-environment.     -   Device groups 910—in one embodiment maintains information         regarding devices 270 located in presentation environments 110         and in another embodiment maintains information regarding shared         or pooled devices 1450 (see FIG. 14) with common attributes or         characteristics that are selectably assignable to presentation         sub-environments.     -   Device connections and routing 912—holds information regarding         specific physical static connections between different devices         270, and routing capabilities (e.g., available static         connections that are physically capable in the room) that enable         the server 100 to issue commands to control interconnections         between source devices and output devices or issue other control         device commands. Information contained within this data set is         also used to restrict specific connections such as restricting         the data sent to a speaker system to be only audio data or         limiting the number of connections to or from a given device.         The device connections and routing 912 provide an environmental         model for the server 100 of the presentation environment 110 and         the various devices 270 and other elements located within or         associated with the presentation environment 110.     -   Scene and presentation control 914—Stores information pertinent         to a specific scene configuration or a series of different         changes in system state over time, such as that embodied in a         presentation where the presentation environment 110 is commanded         to change state by implementing moving from one scene to another         at different times, or in response to specific triggers.     -   Event handling 916—provides controls and information for the         server 100 to handle different changes in the system state,         including different reporting operations and failure recovery         and fault trapping details.

Application Server Architecture

An overview of the server application architecture 300 of the server 100 is depicted in FIG. 3. The server application architecture 300 shown in the embodiment depicted provides an overview of the interactions between different software elements comprising one embodiment of the server application architecture 300 of the system and method. The depicted embodiment details only one possible, exemplary architecture available to one of ordinary skill in the art for implementing the server application architecture 300 of the present system and method. The application service architecture 300 of the server 100 in the embodiment of the system shown in FIG. 2, is implemented within the atmospherics.war 240 component of the tomcat application server, or web server 200.

The server application architecture 300 comprises a number of discrete modules. A description of a selected number of the discrete modules is provided below.

Presentation Layer

The presentation layer 302 provides the primary user interfaces for control clients 102 connecting to the server 100. There are three primary user interface apps, 320, 322, and 324 that generate a user interface for a given control client 102 based on the information provided by that control client 102 including the user, permission levels, presentation environment 110 and other factors. The first of the three user interface apps are a system configuration webapp 324 allowing a user to configure the system. The second is the system control flash app 302 that enables a control client 102 to control devices, and create and store scenes and presentations. The third is a control phone app 320, that provides user interface specific information and controls to the control client 102 to enable it to control a phone, such as a VoIP Phone 210 and to render a control panel on a VoIP Phone 210 thereby enabling inputs by a user to a VoIP Phone 210 are able to issue control commands to the server 100 that in turn reconfigures the presentation environment 110 based on the desired inputs. The control phone app 320, although it specifically describes controlling a phone, it is obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that other network or internet enabled devices could also be interfaced with the system via a user interface app similar in nature to the control phone app 320.

Remote Communication Layer

The remote communication layer 304 supports a variety of high-level services for handling communication sessions with the server 100.

Application Service Layer and Others

The application service 306 provides the back end processes and business logic necessary to operate the system and respond to specific system events and user inputs. The application service layer 306 works together with the component service layer 308, the domain model 310, persistence layer 312, and device control layer 314 to respond to user input provided from a control client 102 and thus allows the system to manage, route, and control multiple A/V sources and output devices as well as other devices. Within the application service 306, an event engine as described below, is used to generate, monitor and handle different actions, triggers, and changes in the system. Underlying the server application architecture 300 are multiple off-the-shelf and customized third party frameworks and libraries 316 that provide common functionality to the application service 306.

Device Control Library

Within the device control layer 314, a device control library 340 is provided. The device control library 340 provides interface specifics and details needed by the server 100 to interpret specific device 270 attribute information received for a given type, make and model of a device 270 and also how to structure commands suitable for the given type, make and model of the device 270 to be part of the controlled user environment. The device control library 340 in some embodiments also maintains specific details on how to communicate, monitor and respond to specific communications or responses provided by the device 270 being controlled. For example, the device control library 340 can provide details of how to structure instructions to a specific type of audio system 144 to raise and lower the volume. The same device control library 340 driver for the same audio system 144 in some embodiments also provides a monitoring function that communicates with the audio system 144 to detect faults or other problems and report the details of those respective fault events to the system for response. The contents of the device control library 340 are updateable from time to time by the user upon demand and via query to remote license and driver servers.

Some exemplary types of are detached devices found in a device control library 340 adapted for use with an A/V system include environmental devices 142. Environmental devices 142 include control equipment that controls lighting in a room, including on/off switches, dimmable lighting and shades and other windows obscuring systems as well as temperature controls, power switches, and preset configuration controls. Other types of environmental devices 142 include sensors such as ambient light sensors, motion detectors, temperature sensors, humidity sensors, and switches or buttons present within the presentation environment 110.

Control Client

The embodiment of the control client 102, as depicted in FIG. 2, is shown as a Windows® computer and the control client 102 is implemented using a standard internet or web browser 220 running on the computer. Although the embodiment shown depicts a Windows-based client interfacing with the server 100 through a web browser, multiple other embodiments include the use of a dedicated player, such as a standalone Adobe®/Macromedia® Flash® player or a Java® applet, or other method of accepting and interpreting the information provided by the server 100, receiving input from the user, and then transferring the command and control information back to the server 100. A number of other operating systems are readily supported as known to those of ordinary skill in the art such as Windows® Mobile, Windows® CE, Mac® OS, Linux, BSD and others. By abstracting the user interface from the specifics of the control client 102, the system is able to render a user interface on a variety of different platforms running a range of different software while providing as much information and details as possible on the control client 102 relative to the capabilities of the control client 102. For example, in one embodiment, the server 100 evaluates the capabilities of the control client 102 upon log-in and then provides a customized user interface based on the ability of the control client 102 to handle the interface. In one embodiment, if the user logs into the server 100 via a handheld personal data assistant with limited display capabilities, the user interface is rendered to the control client 102 is rendered based on the details and capabilities of the personal data assistant and has possesses less information to be presented to the user. Other methods of creating a dynamic user interface on the control client 102 through communication with a server 100 can be implemented and are apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.

The control client 102 in some embodiments is a thin-client such as a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone 210 or another closed architecture device. The server 100 communicates with the closed or proprietary architecture device local system control phone app 212 through the system control phone app 320. The user can then input commands via the VoIP phone 210 that are supplied to the server 100 to change the state of the performance environment 110 and execute scenes and other programs. In some embodiments, the control client 102 is capable of providing a customized user interface 102 for the VoIP phone 210 that enables the user to access specific functionality on the server 100 using the menus and features of the VoIP phone 210 using either a specialized sub-application running on the VoIP phone 210 or using a generalized interface for to the VoIP phone 210.

System Control Client Architecture

The control client 102 in the embodiment depicted in FIG. 2 can operate two client-side web applications, a client system configuration webapp 222 for configuring the server 100 and a client system control webapp 224 for controlling a given presentation, scene or presentation environment 110. Access for a user to specific features and capabilities of the system through both the client system webapp 222 and the client system control webapp 224 are limited based on the specific rights and privileges associated with a given user. Further, for some users they are unable to access the client system configuration webapp 222 at all since they have limited user privileges.

System Configuration Webapp

The client system configuration webapp 222 local to the control client 102 and receives information from the server 100, and more specifically the system configuration webapp 324 that it renders into a user interface for the user using a player resident on the control client 102. In the case of the embodiment depicted in FIG. 2, the player is embedded within a web browser 220. The client system configuration webapp 222 on the control client 102 renders the user interface sent from the server 100 via the system configuration webapp 324 to allow the user to configure the server 100. Some exemplary configuration actions the user can take include defining elements or devices 270 in a specific presentation environment 110, including static connections within the presentation environment 110, creating and storing device 270 and system state details, i.e. storing scenes for present or future use, or ordering multiple scenes together into a presentation, and managing users and user rights. In one example, a user who logs into the server the system configuration webapp 222 on the control client 102 who does not have sufficient privileges to modify user accounts is not presented any option to access any screens to modify user accounts by virtue of the system configuration webapp 324 not transferring details of how to render the modify user account screens to the control client 102, thus the user interface only presents details and user interface objects to the user that the user has the ability to manipulate.

System Configuration Webapp Functionality

The system configuration webapp 324 renders for the user on the control client 102 via the client system configuration webapp 222 and thus enabling the user to adjust several important parameters of the server 100 to effect the operation of the system. Specifically, the system configuration webapp 324 allows a user with appropriate access privileges the ability to: add and remove devices 270; provide additional details to devices 270 including device names; serial numbers; asset tag numbers; purchase details and physical location information; associate various devices 270 with specific sub-environments or rooms in the presentation environment 110; manage users; provide pointers to specific device 270 background information and details including links to external uniform resource locators (URLs) for additional documentation; and, trouble shoot problems with devices 270. Thus the system configuration webapp 324 and the client system configuration webapp 222 provide the user with the ability to customize the server 100 and thus the operation of the system.

System Control Webapp

The client system control webapp 224 is local to the control client 102. The architecture of the client system control webapp 224 is shown in FIG. 4, and it contains a plurality of different components that interact to provide a user of the control client 102 the ability to control devices, call-up scenes and presentations in a specific presentation environment 110. The client system control webapp 224 has multiple components to render the user interface on the control client 102. A custom skin 402 library provides visual coloring and effects to the baseline user interface control widgets that are defined by the device control user interface library, 404, and the extended device control user interface library 405. The user interface control and information widgets are used to populate the user interface framework 406 that defines the overall layout, navigation and control widget features. These interface widgets interface with the customized flash application 410, which extends the standard flash player 412, and other elements of the client system control webapp 224 to enable a user to receive feedback on system status from the server 100, and issue commands to the system. Sessions with the server 100 are handled by a server communication framework 416, while a flash remoting application 414 facilitates transferring flash content between the control client 102 and server 100.

User Interface

Multiple examples of a user interface on a control client 102 are presented in schematic form in FIGS. 5-7 and a single rendered form in FIG. 8. Additional embodiments of rendered user interfaces are depicted in FIG. 15 through FIG. 18.

Quick Controls

In another implementation, the user interface further comprises quick controls or customizable controls that allow a user to customize some or all aspects of the user interface and associated user interface widgets presented to the user on a control client 102. In one aspect, the quick control allows the user to specify specific options and or control options that are presented upon startup. For example, in the exemplary rendered user interface 1500 shown in FIG. 15, the user establishes a quick control, in the depicted embodiment a dialer quick control 1502 that is associated with the scene and a particular device 270. The quick control widget in one embodiment is a standard user interface widget that is presented to the user when configuring the device 270 using a device configuration screen. In another embodiment, a specialized user interface widget is provided for use within the desired screen that provides an alternative presentation specially adapted for use as a quick control. In the depicted embodiment, the dialer quick control 1502 is provided to the user client 102 for rendering as part of the user interface 1500 when the user selects the “Audio Conferencing” scene selector 1504. The quick control 1502 itself is associated with the scene by either the user who creates the scene initially or by an administrator who defines the default quick control for a given configuration within a presentation environment 110.

Thus, when the user is identified by the system and selects the desired scene using the scene selector drop down 886 as shown in FIG. 8, or via the scene selector list box 1506 as shown in FIG. 15, the quick control associated with that particular scene is presented in the user's desired configuration. In yet another example, depicted in FIG. 8, the routing control 870 tab active rather than the device control tab 890. In this manner, the user is able to obtain direct access via the quick control to the desired user interface widgets to directly access either the device 270 control or directly access a subset of the device 270 controls, such as a dial pad or dialer quick control 1502 for placing a call on a video conferencing system 262 or an alphanumeric pad for inputting specific commands.

In another aspect, the quick controls are used by the server 100 to provide the user access to user interface widgets that allows the user to directly access desirable controls or configuration management interfaces that otherwise would not be available on the current user interface screen mode. In one exemplary embodiment, one or more quick controls are configured to present a device configuration user interface widget to the user directly on the presentation control user interface 600 without requiring the user to navigate away from the current mode and screen of the user interface. In this manner, the quick controls allow the user to access desired functionality, based on user or administrator preferences, to directly access configuration or user interface widgets that would otherwise require the user to navigate away from the current user interface screen to reach the control.

In another embodiment, the use of quick controls allows the user to define specific customized user interface widgets or elements, such as buttons or selection boxes, that are rendered as part of the user interface presented to the user on a control client 102. In one exemplary embodiment, a portion 1510 of the user interface on a control client 102 is customized to allow a set or series of specific user interface widgets to be presented to the user. This portion of the user interface in one instance is customized by the administrator to show specific user interface widgets associated with device 270 that are present and in use in a given scene in the presentation environment 110. For example, in the embodiment depicted in FIG. 15, the administrator configures a subset of quick controls to be displayed to the user as part of the presentation environment, thereby allowing the user to use a quick control to adjust lighting 1512, adjust volume 1514, mute all 1516 and turn on and off 1518 all devices 270 in the presentation environment 110. In another instance, the user is able to associate specific user interface widgets with a scene that the user defines. In one aspect, the quick control may represent a click-to-dial user interface widget to access a video conferencing system 262 present in the presentation environment 110 and configured as part of the scene. The use of quick controls in the user interface thus allows the user to define specific user interface widgets that enable access to specific device 270 functionality and or other tools and operations directly from a scene control interface.

The quick controls in various embodiments are configured and stored for retrieval and use with specific users and scenes in the database 202 by the server 100. In one embodiment, specific quick controls are selected and presented to a user associated with specific scenes based on definitions by an administrator. For example, the administrator may configure a quick control that provides direct quick control access to a dialer for a video conferencing system 262 whenever the user uses a scene that includes that capability within the presentation environment 110. The administrator associates the desired quick control, in this case a dialer quick control 1502 for accessing a dialer user interface widget, with the video conferencing system 262 and the association is stored within the database 202. In this manner, when a user activates a scene that includes the associated device 270, in this case the video conferencing system 262, the quick control is rendered on the scene control panel on the user interface rendered on the control client 102. In another instance, the administrator associates one or more quick controls with a given scene definition so whenever a user loads that scene definition the quick control associated with the scene definition is retrieved and rendered for the user. In this manner, the administrator has the option to provide specified quick controls with any scene or associated with a specific device 270 that is accessed by a user in the presentation environment 110. In another instance, the user is able to access desired quick controls associated with a given device 270 or a given scene in the presentation environment 110. These associations are also stored in the database 202 and associated with the combination of the individual user and the specified device 270 or scene, such that the desired quick control is identified and loaded whenever a scene or device 270 associated with the quick control is accessed by the user. In this manner, the quick controls are defined and associated with specific devices 270, scenes, and users or classes of users in the database 202. The association information is requested by the client from the server 100 when rendering a scene and building the user interface for presentation to the user on the control client 102 such that the desired quick controls associated with the scene or devices 270 present in the scene are presented for use within the user interface framework 406.

Scene Editor

FIG. 5 depicts a schematic view of an embodiment of the scene editor 500 interface where a user can define a specific scene for a specific room 502 by defining the state of devices 270, in this case the device under configuration 506 is a display. Based on the specific room 502 selected by the user, a different series of device selection buttons 504 are presented to the user. For example, if a specific room 502 within the presentation environment 110, does not include any audio mixers, then the device configuration tab for audio mixers would not be rendered on a user interface, in contrast the ability to configure that device 270 provided in the scene editor 500 interface embodiment shown.

Overall room controls 503 are also provided to the user so they can activate all of the systems in the room, e.g. power on and turn the volume up, down, or mute regardless of the specific devices being used. The overall room controls 503 provide a means for controlling all of the devices 270 associated with a given portion of the presentation environment 110 at the same time. This zone control allows the user to control the operations of multiple devices using a single control input. In the case of on/off controls the zone control effectively tells the server 100 to turn all of the devices 270 associated with that zone control to power up or down respectively. In the case of a graduated control, e.g. volume, the zone control provides a generalized user interface control to the user, such as a control numbered from 0 to 10. Then the zone control translates the user input on the zone control into the equivalent experienced by the device 270. For example, in one embodiment with two audio devices, one with a full scale volume input of 0-20 and the other with a full scale volume input of 0 to 100, the mapping from the single 0-10 input from the user into the others full scale range using a straightforward linear mapping. Other mapping functions can be created including logarithmic mappings or other customized mapping as required. These customized mapping functions, in some embodiments, are integrated into the device driver files and directly translate or map the user input to the device input when the configuration commands are issued to the device 270.

Presentation Player

FIG. 6 depicts a schematic view of an embodiment of the presentation control user interface 600. The presentation player 602 provides a user interface on the control client 102 that enables a user to select a specific presentation 604, skip either forward 606 or backward 608 from scene to scene, and play 610, pause 612 or stop 614 the presentation. The presentation control user interface 600 is showing the routing control user interface 620. The routing control user interface 620 allows a user to for a link or communication path for AN data or signals by selecting a source device node button 622 to choose a specific a source device 120 and then selecting the type of signal to transfer using the signal routing type button 624 and selecting via the output device selection button 626 the destination or output device 130 for the A/V data. Once the user selects the type of source device 120, the signal routing type button 624 and the available output device buttons 626 change to reflect the type of signal produced by the selected source and the ability to route the signal to the output device 130 as well as the ability of the various accessible output devices 130 to accept that type of signal, which includes any converters 160 that are present in the presentation environment 110 to change the signal. The presentation control user interface 600 in some embodiments also restricts viewing of the different source devices 120 available to the user based on the type of output device 130 selected, for example when the user selects a specific projector 164, only source devices 120 capable of being routed to the selected project and capable of producing a signal usable by the projector 164 are displayed as being available for routing.

When defining these routes using the routing control 620, the user is presented with the devices 270 that are available to the user based on the presentation environment 110 or room 502 they are using, their rights, and any other environment information. In one embodiment, after selecting a specific source devices 130 by selecting a source device node button 622, the route mode 624 only presents route mode information that the source device 130 and the presentation environment 110 has been configured to accept or allow. In the embodiment displayed, the signal types capable of being routed from selected via the source device node button 622 is both audio and visual data as shown in the type of available routing mode 624 displayed in the routing control 620. In this embodiment, after selecting the routing mode 624, the devices 626 that information can be routed to, based on the configuration of the room 502 and the type of data to be routed, is presented to the user to enable them to complete the routing connection. In other embodiments, the presentation environment 110 may allow multiple routes to be formed, for example from a single laptop 150 video output selected as the selected device node 622 the signal can be routed to a splitter (not shown) that splits the signal into two discrete signals. Then output from the splitter can be routed to a first projector 164 and a second projector 164 placed in another portion of the room 502. In still other alternative embodiments the routing for different types of signals can be separated, meaning that the video output of a DVD player 154 is routed to a video device such as a monitor 162 while the audio output of the DVD player 154 is routed to the audio system 144.

Presentation Selection and Editing

FIG. 7 depicts a schematic view of an embodiment of a presentation definition control 700 user interface. The presentation definition control 700 user interface enables the user to select via the presentation selection interface 702 a specific presentation to access.

Rendered User Interface—Presentation Player

FIG. 8 depicts a rendered user interface 800 of the previously presented control user interface 600. Shown in FIG. 8 is a general volume control interface 880 that provides a zone control interface for all devices in the selected room 502 of the presentation environment 110. The presentation control user interface 600 highlights the name of the selected presentation 884 and details which scene within the presentation is currently playing via the scene selector drop down 886. The scene selector drop down 886 in this embodiment allows a user to quickly shift between different scenes within the sequence of scenes found within a presentation.

Exemplary Control for Devices

The following examples detail some exemplary commands and attributes for a given device 270 to be controlled by the system and stored within the device configuration 908 located within the database 202. These command and information definitions are not intended to provide exemplary instruction to one of ordinary skill in the art necessary for one to adapt this information to other systems and provide insight into how commands and user interface widgets can be abstracted from the details of the devices 270 being controlled. The following styles are used to define the device commands and attributes provided below:

-   -   name=Attribute command     -   (D)=Device command     -   (ROA)=Read only attribute

Group/Room Control

These are commands and attributes that are issued to a group of rooms, or a single room, effectively as a whole. For example, if there are multiple environmental devices 142, such as light controls in a given room, the lights 260 up or down command would be issued to all of the light control devices in the room. Similarly if there are other environmental devices 142 in the form of controllable shades 266 in the room 502, the group or room control can be configured such that lowering the lights 260 in the room also draws the shades 266 to darken the room. Or alternatively if there are multiple audio sources, then a mute command would be issued to all of the audio devices 258 in the room.

-   -   power=[true, false]     -   (D) volumeUp     -   (D) volumeDown     -   mute=[true, false]     -   (D) lightsUp     -   (D) lightsDown

Power

Power is a command that enables the system to power an individual device 270 on or off. The power command can be issued either directly to the device 270 or alternatively can be directed to a controllable power supply or distribution channel.

-   -   power=[true, false]

Shades 266

Shades 266 represents a type of environmental control 142 that controls window coverings.

-   -   (D) Open     -   (D) Close     -   status=[% open]

Media Player 268

A media player 268 is an arbitrary type of generalized A/V signal source or source device 120 that plays different types of media, including tape.

-   -   playStatus=[play, stop, pause]     -   (D) fastForward     -   (D) rewind

DVD Player 154

A DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) Player 154 a type of source device 120 adapted to play DVD discs and in some embodiments compact audio discs.

-   -   title=[numeric value of title]     -   chapter=[numeric value of chapter]     -   (ROA) numberOfTitles=contains total number of titles on disc     -   (ROA) numberOfChapters=contains total number of chapters on         current title     -   (D) nextChapter     -   (D) previousChapter     -   (D) menu     -   (D) cursorUp     -   (D) cursorDown     -   (D) cursorLeft     -   (D) cursorRight     -   (D) select

Display 162

Representing a general purpose output device 130 such as a television or monitor.

-   -   aspectRatio=[standard, widescreen, zoom]

In the case of a general purpose output device 130 as a projector, additional attributes include:

-   -   (ROA) bulb hours     -   (D) Video input select

In some instances, the general purpose output device 130 possesses the attributes of multiple devices, such as a projector and an audio output device, representing a projector with integrated audio output capabilities.

Audio 258

An audio output device 130.

-   -   mute=[true, false]     -   volume=[numeric value of volume]

Windowing Box (RGB Spectrum)

The windowing box is controlling an RGB rendering tool, such as the Video to RGB converter 160 shown in FIG. 1.

-   -   (D) zoomIn1, zoomIn2 . . . (as many as there are windows,         inputs)     -   (D) zoomOut1, zoomOut2 . . . (as many as there are windows,         inputs)     -   (D) up1, up2 . . . (as many as there are windows, inputs)     -   (D) down1, down2 . . . (as many as there are windows, inputs)     -   (D) left1, left2 . . . (as many as there are windows, inputs)     -   (D) right1, right2 . . . (as many as there are windows, inputs)     -   preset=[(enum) either numbers or text labels]     -   label1, label2 (as many as there are windows)=[text field]

Lighting 260

Lighting 260 represents a type of environmental device 142 or detached device present in the presentation environment 110 that effects the environment, but is detached from the signal flow established between source devices 120 and output devices 130 via any control devices 140.

-   -   (D) lightsUp     -   (D) lightsDown

Single Zone Control

A zone is a logical grouping of nodes, elements or devices and can be large or small in number. A zone can encompass a number of presentation environments 110 or rooms 502, a set of devices 270 within a room 502, or even a number of nodes within a single device 270.

-   -   (D) rampUp     -   (D) rampDown     -   (D) stopRamp     -   intensity=[numeric value of intensity (1-100)]     -   power=[true, false]

Multizone Control

A multizone control is one that controls many zones per control unit, effectively aggregating multiple zones into a single user interface.

-   -   (D) rampUp1, rampUp2 (as many as there are zones)     -   (D) rampDown1, rampDown2 (as many as there are zones)     -   (D) stopRamp (will stop ramping of all zones)     -   intensity1, intensity2=[numeric value of intensity (1-100)] (as         many attributes as there are zones)     -   preset=[numeric value of preset]     -   power=[true, false] (basically ramps all to max or all to 0)     -   (ROA) numberOfZones=number of zones on the configured control         unit

Master Control Unit Control

The master unit control provides a control suitable for all devices 270 or substantially all devices 270 present in a presentation environment 110 enabling commands to be issued to all devices 270 associated with the presentation environment 110.

-   -   (D) rampUp     -   (D) rampDown     -   (D) stopRamp     -   preset=[numeric value of preset (1-16)]     -   Room temperature=[numeric value]     -   (D) maxCOOL     -   (D) maxHEAT     -   Motion=[true, false] (triggered based upon motion detector or         RFID presence)

Other devices depicted in FIG. 2 as being controlled include video conferencing systems 262 that link multiple conference rooms together, a camera 264 for live viewing or contemporaneous recording of the room, and a Keyboard, Video, Mouse (KVM) switch 250 that can be enabled to provide a system administrator or presenter access to input devices located within a given presentation environment 110 such as a keyboard or mouse.

The total number and types of devices 270 present in a given presentation environment 110 can vary significantly with a variety of different mixtures of source devices 120, output devices 130, switches or control devices 140 and detached devices or environment devices 142, including environmental sensors and actuators available for configuration, query, command and control. In the case of environment devices 142 that provide environmental information, such as ambient temperature sensors, humidity sensors, ambient light sensors, discrete input devices such as switches, and room occupancy sensors the server 100 maintains drivers capable of monitoring the information provided by these environment device 142 sensors and capturing specific events generated by these sensors for response by the system.

Device Pooling

One embodiment of the present system and method is the ability to share a single device 270 across multiple sub-environments within a given presentation environment 110. For example, referring to FIG. 14, a given presentation environment 110 is depicted with a first presentation sub-environment 1410, a second presentation sub-environment 1412, and a third presentation sub-environment 1414. Each of the three sub-environments (1410, 1412, and 1414) has a set of devices 270 associated with that particular sub-environment. For example, in one exemplary embodiment, the first sub-environment 1410 has a projector 164, audio output 258, and microphone 1420 physically located within the first sub-environment 1410. A first video conferencing system 1400 and second video conferencing system 1402 are available within the presentation environment 110 and can be selectably interfaced to any of the three presentation sub-environments (1410, 1412, and 1414). The video conference systems 1400 and 1402 represent a shared device, or generally a pooled device 1450. A pooled device 1450 is any device 270 that is adapted to be selectable or temporarily associated with one or more sub-presentation environments located within the overall presentation. In this manner, the first video conferencing system 1400 and the second video conferencing system 1402 are grouped in a logical pooled device 1450 group. The devices 270 in the logical pooled device 1450 group are then selectably connected to the desired presentation sub-environment (1410, 1412, and 1414) via a selector 1460.

The logical pooled device 1450 group represents a set of devices 270 with common characteristics that are able to be temporarily associated and selectively used with a given presentation sub-environment (1410, 1412, or 1414). The logical pooled device 1450 group is configured such that each device 270 within the logical pooled device 1450 group is capable of being associated with a single presentation sub-environment (1410, 1412, or 1414) and locked.

Referring now to the user interface of one embodiment shown in FIG. 16, a logical pooled device 1450 group is defined using the group definition user interface 1600. A name for referring to the logical pooled device group 1450 is provided in the name definition input 1602. The type pull-down 1604 identifies the selected devices 270 in the device group as a logical pooled device 1450 group and the device selection list 1606 details the types of devices 207 included in the logical pooled device 1450 group.

For example, the first video conferencing system 1400 can be scheduled, locked and associated for use with the first presentation sub-environment 1410. After the first video conferencing system 1400 is scheduled for use with a particular sub-environment, other users cannot schedule that device 270 in the logical pooled device 1450 group during the same period. After the first video conferencing system 1400 is locked for use with a particular sub-environment, other users cannot access or use it until the current user either releases it or a timer associated with either the scheduling of the respective presentation sub-environment or a predefined duration has expired. An example of the timer is shown in greater detail below with respect to FIG. 17. A subsequent user who wishes to use a video conferencing system from the logical pooled device 1450 group after the first video conferencing system 1400 is locked for use, is then able to schedule, lock and access the second video conferencing system 1402 for use with that user's presentation sub-environment. After all devices in a given logical pooled device 1450 group are locked for use, subsequent users are queued until the desired device is released by the prior user.

The server 100 manages the pooled devices 1450 associated with a logical pooled device 1450 group. The characteristics of the logical pooled device 270 group are defined during the initial system installation and configuration and those characteristics are stored and maintained in the database 202. During system initialization, the server 100 obtains information associated with the logical pooled device 1450 group and establishes management control over the device group that enables the locking, release and management of the pooled devices 1450. The relationships between the available pooled devices 270 of the logical pooled device 1450 group and the presentation sub-environments that are capable of interfacing with the available pooled devices 1450 are defined and stored within the database 202 using the same procedures are outlined herein.

The server 100, in one embodiment, maintains a resource allocation calendar system stored within the database 202 that allows pooled devices 1450 from a given logical pooled device 1450 group to be scheduled for use with specified presentation sub-environments. The resource allocation scheduling system maintains scheduling details for the pooled devices 1450 and presentation sub-environments to avoid resource over allocation and provide users with details of available resources upon request. In one instance of this embodiment, the server 100 connects with an external enterprise calendaring and scheduling system to provide the devices 270 of the logical pooled device 1450 group availability to the external calendaring system and to obtain details of scheduled resource use from the enterprise calendaring system. In still another embodiment, the server 100 directly calls the external calendaring system to determine which resources of a logical pooled device 1450 group are scheduled for use or otherwise available at specific times and for setting timers for automatically releasing pooled devices 1450 from a given presentation sub-environment. In this manner, the server 100 interfaces with the presentation environment 110 scheduling systems to allocate the pooled devices 1450 resources to the desired presentation sub-environments as required by the scheduling requirements of the users. This also enables the use of additional business rules and checks to enable some users to override other users or for certain meetings and events to have established priority for accessing pooled devices 1450 or pre-empting other users in some circumstances and otherwise avoiding over-subscription of devices 270 prior to a user encountering the inability to access a pooled device 1450 due to existing in-use locks for the devices.

Virtual Devices

The user operating and accessing a given pooled device 1450 implements a proxy device or virtual device within the user's presentation sub-environment that enables the scene controlling that sub-environment to setup, access, and control the pooled device 1450. For instance, the user who has scheduled video conference system 1400 in the logical pooled device 1450 group creates a proxy device associated with the type of devices 270 located within the logical pooled device 1450 group. The proxy device controller is defined and stored within the database 202 as a virtual interface to the types of physical devices located within the logical pooled device 1450 group during the initial definition and establishment of the logical group. The logical pooled device 1450 group includes a proxy interface that allows the proxy device controller to interface and issue commands to the desired device 270 selected from the pooled device 1450 group. The proxy interface thus receives commands issued from the proxy device controller being used and operated by a user within a particular presentation sub-environment, translates and directs those commands to the pooled device 1450 that is associated with that particular presentation sub-environment and passes any reporting or status messages back to the proxy device controller. In this manner, the proxy device controller associated with the presentation sub-environment is used by the user to establish a control linkage via the proxy interface to the controlled pooled device 1450. Thus, a user in the third presentation sub-environment 1412 is able to access and control the allocated second video conferencing system 1402 via the proxy device controller.

In defining and establishing a scene associated with a pooled device 1450, the user defines the device 270 and incorporates the device 270 into the scene using the proxy device controller, or virtual device 270. In some instances, the room device group that contains information regarding the types of devices associated with a given presentation sub-environment is updated to include proxy device controllers that are able to be associated with that room device group. The proxy device controller is defined during system configuration to reflect the common controls associated with the types of devices 270 present in the logical pooled device 1450 group that are available to a user in a given room or presentation environment 110. For example, the first and second video conferencing systems (1400 and 1402) in the embodiment depicted in FIG. 14 include outputs for video and audio signals, inputs for video and audio signals, and a set of controls for operating the conference and a dialer. All of these controls and inputs and outputs are established in the proxy device controller that is implemented by the user in a scene.

The abstraction of the actual device 270 allocated in the logical pooled device 1450 group allows, in some embodiments, different devices 270 of the same fundamental type to be implemented transparently to the user. For example, in the embodiment depicted in FIG. 14 the first video conferencing system 1400 is manufactured by a different company from the second video conferencing system 1402, wherein and the respective video conferencing systems have different control inputs and control formatting requirements although both have common control types (e.g., dialers, muting, blanking, making audio, and video connections). The proxy interface then manages and translates abstracted commands from the proxy device controller into signals required by the respective video conference system present in the logical pooled device 1450 group. In this manner, the specific type or manufacturer of the pooled device 1450 accessed by a user from time to time is abstracted and it is not necessary for a user to redefine different proxy device controllers for use with different pooled devices 1450 that are assigned to a given user for a given presentation event.

The proxy device controller or virtual device also provides additional functionality to the system by allowing the user to setup and operate a scene with the proxy device controller and mimicking the operation and connections of the device 270 without having the device 270 physically connected and/or operating. This virtual device capability enables a user to setup an environment, use the environment and practice and test scenes, configurations and presentations at times when the desired pooled devices 1450 are not available. Then, when the pooled device 1450 becomes available to the user, the proxy device controller establishes a connection to the proxy interface and creates the physical and logical linkages to the environment necessary for the assigned pooled device 1450 to connect to the other devices 270 present in the presentation sub-environment, thereby subsuming the functionality of the virtual device with the actual connections and operation of the shared device seamlessly. In another aspect, the use of the proxy device controller allows a scene to be prototyped and saved using one of the pooled devices 1450, such as the first video conferencing system 1400. Then, when the user logs back onto the system and recalls the scene, the proxy device controller allows the second video conferencing system 1402 to be used in place of the first video conferencing system 1400 transparently to the user since each device 270 has the same interface. The addressing, routing and resource allocation that allows the user to take control of pooled devices 1450 is completed transparently.

In still another embodiment of the present system and method, a proxy control interface is used to create a virtual interface independent of a logical pooled device 1450 group. In this instance, the conceptual representation of a physical device 270 enables the operation of the system through specific equipment failures, facilitates implementation and debugging of system operation and installation, provides users with a mechanism for the debugging of complicated scenes and scene transitions, and facilitates the transfer of a device configuration from one presentation sub-environment to another presentation sub-environment where the set of available devices 270 are significantly different.

In still another embodiment, the logical pooled device 1450 group represents physical assets that are available for movement and/or allocation to different locations within a particular environments. In one exemplary embodiment relevant to an automated manufacturing environment controlled by the present system and method, a logical pooled device 1450 group represents an automated transfer vehicle that is designed to move manufacturing jigs and parts from location to location within the manufacturing facility. A given manufacturing facility may contain large numbers of automated transfer vehicles that must be scheduled and controlled in order to transfer equipment and parts from location to location. Thus, the vehicles are capable of being represented as a logical pooled device 1450 group with a proxy interface to transfer commands (e.g., go to location Y, interface with pickup tray, secure pickup tray, go to location Z, insert pickup tray into parts feeder, etc.) to the vehicles based on commands received from a proxy controller associated with a given sub-environment. In this manner, the proxy control interface is able to selectively take over control of an automated transfer vehicle, use it to meet its operational requirements, and then release it back into a common pool for use by another proxy control interface.

For example, the embodiment of the user interface depicted in FIG. 17 details the reservation of a single device 270 from a logical pooled device 1450 group. The device selection user interface 1700 details the selection 1702 of a virtual device, in this case a video conferencing system, also described by manufacturer type identification as a “Tandberg.” Upon selecting 1702 the virtual device, a proxy queries the logical pooled device 1450 group control widget associated with the appropriate type of video conferencing system, in this case a Tandberg, that is available for use in the selected scene 1704, in this case “Video Conference w/Podium”. After selecting the virtual device, a user interface widget for device scheduling 1710 is rendered on the control client 102 to interface with the logical pooled device 1450 group resource allocation scheduling system. The device scheduling user interface widget 1710 provides a logical pooled device 1450 group selection drop down 1712 that allows the user to select the desired logical pooled device 1450, in the embodiment depicted, the first video conferencing system 1400. The first video conferencing system 1400 is shown as being reserved by the user (in this case the administrator is the user) until a specific time shown in the reservation horizon 1714, in this case 1:02:06 PM. The device scheduling user interface widget 1710 also allows the user to adjust the reserved time via the duration dialog 1716, and also allows the user to release the first video conferencing system 1400 to other users via the release button 1718. The operation of the duration dialog 1716 in the reserve in some embodiments is modulated by the resource allocation scheduling system. The user may in the embodiment depicted in FIG. 17 directly access a calendar view of the resource allocation scheduling system via the resource scheduling button 1720. After the desired device 270 is selected from the logical pooled device 1450 group, in this case the first video conferencing system 1400, the server 100 locks the reserved first video conferencing system 1400 to the particular presentation sub-environment. The user interface provides device configuration interfaces, such as a pan and zoom interface 1730 and a dialer quick control 1502, that the user uses to control the selected first video conferencing system 1400.

Scalable End User Licensing

One aspect of one embodiment of the system and method for audio visual control and integration is the ability for the system to scale from a small installation to larger installations. The basic licensing structure is based a base fee that includes a fixed number of servers 100, logical rooms 502, and devices 270 present within a presentation environment 110. The fixed numbers are adjustable to and in addition to the total numbers of devices 270 present the licensing and in some embodiments is keyed to the total number of specific types of devices 270, such as a total number of source devices 120, or switches/control devices 140. Additional fees are charged based on the additional rooms 502, the number of devices 270 per a room 502, and additional modules. All drivers for audio-visual hardware located in the presentation environment 110 are provided to the purchaser for a fixed period of time. After the initial period, the access to additional drivers to support the addition or substitute of other types of audio-visual hardware located in the presentation environment 110 are made available on a pay-per-installation basis or through a maintenance program.

Mechanism for Achieving End User Licensing

In one embodiment of the licensing system, there are two processes for allowing a given user system to access or change additional licenses or features: generating private and public keystores to enable asymmetric key encryption and then generating an actual license. The generation of keystores only needs to occur once while generating the license occurs many times, possibly for every customer.

Generating License Key Stores

In this one embodiment, private and public keystores are created as part of a given distribution of an embodiment of the system and method for audio visual control and integration. The keystores create both private key and public certificate files. The private key is held by the company distributing the embodiment of the system. The public certificates are used by third parties, nominally purchasers of an embodiment of the system and method for controlling, routing and managing data, who are communicating with the company to obtain additional licenses to expand, extend, or access the capabilities of the system.

Generating a License File

During installation of this one embodiment of the system, a license for the software is generated. When an upgrade to the capabilities of a given installation is desired, the user communicates with the company to obtain a new license. The new license enables the user to unlock the additional capabilities of the system. The license is encrypted using the private keys held by the company, and decrypted using the public keys held by the user to provide access to the additional capabilities. In this manner, it is possible for a user to upgrade the capabilities of an embodiment of the present system and method in a transparent manner.

Driver Specific Licensing

In addition to controlling the total quantities of devices 270, rooms 502, or servers 100 supported by a given installation, the system also enables in some embodiments the control of individual device drivers via the same licensing system. In these embodiments the same process described above for generating and encrypting the license file necessary to enable the system to operate a different levels or install additional components is used to control the distribution of specific driver files. There are two specific embodiments for protecting the driver files in this embodiment of the system and method. In the first embodiment the driver files are either transferred unencrypted from a driver server to the server 100 along with a license key adapted specifically to the driver file. The license key is unencrypted and installed in the server 100 to enable the server 100 to access and install the driver file. Without the installed key, the server 100 is unable to access and install the driver file into the device control library 340 for use by the server 100. In the second embodiment the driver files themselves are encrypted by the driver server using the driver server private key. The server 100 then decrypts the file locally using a key transferred to the server 100 to install and access the driver file into the device control library 340 for use by the server 100. In both of these embodiments, the system provides for controlled distribution of specific drivers to servers 100, these controlled distribution of specific drivers can be integrated together with the other licensing schemes described herein and known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

Administration and Access Control

The server 100 in one embodiment includes a three tier access control system. In the first level of access control, the system configuration controls are dedicated to those with administrative rights only and enables administrators to view and edit access control to presentations and rooms. The system configuration controls are used to control the access levels available to users, and thereby limit selections to improve usability and reduce the potential for error.

The second level of access control is room-based access control. Administrators grant access to users based on who the user is or what role, or task, the user is performing. The room-based access control limits the number of rooms that a user can access by limiting the rooms visible to the user. At the room level, Administrators may specify a non-deletable main presentation that provides default settings for all presentations run in a specific room. For example, the main presentation for a given room may link multiple projectors 164 together to display the same video routed through a switch 170 from a given presentation laptop 150 input, while simultaneously setting audio 258 levels in the room and dimming the lights 260.

The third level of access control in this one embodiment is presentation level access control. There are three fundamental logical access levels to presentations: none, meaning the presentation is inaccessible to a given user; read-only, meaning the presentation can be viewed or used by a given user, but cannot be modified by that user; and, full, enabling the user to modify and control the presentation in any way they wish, limited only by room-based access control prohibitions. Advanced users are able to create presentations and specify access to or share presentations with other users including the ability to provide full, or limited access to the presentations. Administrators have access to all presentations regardless of access level specified by advanced users.

In still another embodiment, to seed or initialize access control levels for given users, the system communicates with an external name or user server to obtain default attributes for a given user. For example, in one embodiment, the server 100 communicates with an external name server such as a Microsoft® Exchange® server via a communication interface, such as the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP). The server 100 retrieves base user details and attributes from the external name server via LDAP thereby allowing integration of the system with an overall enterprise architecture. Thus, the server 100 is able to update specific user customization features, such as full name, default security and access levels for the user by accessing enterprise resources, thereby simplifying maintenance of the system and providing uniformity and integration with enterprise wide information technology infrastructure.

Room and Device Lockouts

The server 100 allows a user or administrator to lockout resources and otherwise prevent other users, or other sets of users such as users with specific attributes (e.g., all junior users), or all users, from using specific devices 270, specific types of devices 270 (e.g., any video conferencing systems 262 regardless of location), or a room. The lockout is implemented on the server 100 and prevents devices 270 that would otherwise be available to a given user from being accessed, configured, or used. In some instances, the lockout is used to dedicate the resource to a specific user or to a specific room or sub-environment. In one embodiment, the lockout is implemented for an indefinite period of time. In other embodiments, a user specifies the lockout for a fixed period of time, e.g., until the user exits the room until the user logs into and configures another room, or based on other events that are triggered by the user in the environment or triggered using timers or other events that are captured by the event engine.

The ability for a user to lockout specific devices 270 is useful to control and restrict access to shared resources and devices 270, such as pooled devices 1450, thereby preventing or limiting the ability for a subsequent user to ‘bump’ or preempt an ongoing event in another environment that is already using a particular shared resource. In another instance, the user may lockout or restrict access to devices 270 within a room or other logical groupings of devices 270. For example, in one scenario a user may wish to lock access to either individual devices 270 or to logical groups of devices 270, such as a set of devices 270 associated with a given room in the presentation environment 110 or a specific class of devices, such as video conferencing devices 262 in situations where the presentation environment 110 must be restricted due to security or privacy concerns. A device 270 is locked by placing a flag on the particular device 270 that indicates who locked the device 270 or group of devices 270, and the event triggers for unlocking the device 270, such as the length of time locked or when the user logs out of the system. When a second user enters a room or otherwise attempts to configure a device 270 that is locked by implementing a scene, the second user is presented with a lock representation that indicates that some or all of the devices 270 that the second user is attempting to configure and use are locked and unavailable. The second user is presented with details of the user who locked the devices 270, and in some instances, is also provided details regarding when the lockout will be removed, e.g., ten minutes remaining in the lockout or when the user logs out of the system.

In some embodiments, a lockout is automatically applied to all devices 270 within a given presentation environment 110 that are being used by a given user as part of a presentation. By locking the devices 270 in the presentation environment there is greater assurance that no other users accessing the presentation environment 110 from other locations may inadvertently or purposefully disrupt the ongoing event.

Autosensing and Authenticating Users

The server 100 in some embodiments includes systems and methods for autosensing and identifying users within a given presentation environment 110. The server 100 in this embodiment is capable of interfacing with and communicating with an external datasource, such as an LDAP server, that stores details necessary for user authentication and allows the association of specific user settings with specified user identification within the system. In baseline operations, the user logs into the server 100 using a control client 102 located within the room or presentation sub-environment. When the user logs into the system, the server 100 identifies the user as accessing a specific control client 102, or, alternatively, the user self identifies so the system is aware of which presentation sub-environment the user is in. In this manner, the client is able to request this information from the server 100 and is able to present to the user a pre-defined or customized set of controls, including in some instances quick controls, and load default configurations or scenes for the user to access and use. In this manner, the server 100 associates specified room configurations or scenes based on user preferences. This allows a user to be provided with a personalized experience and interface used to control particular rooms, or across the entire presentation environment 110.

For example, in one embodiment there is a first presentation sub-environment 1410 that possesses a podium and a desk, either of which have ports for accepting a VGA signal from a computer. If a particular user has a preference for using the podium when using the first presentation sub-environment 1410, when the user logs into the server 100 via a control client 102 located or physically associated with the first presentation sub-environment 1410, the system identifies that the user is present in that sub-environment and then loads the default scene and user interface preferences including in some instances quick controls that are associated with that user. The default scene may in some cases be unique for a given room or based on the device group being accessed by the user. In this manner the system takes advantage of the user log-on to configure the system and provide user customization.

In still another embodiment, the system uses methods for autosensing the user entering the presentation environment 110 or moving from one location or presentation sub-environment to another within the presentation environment 110. For example, in one embodiment each of the rooms within the presentation environment is equipped with a magnetic or embedded chip reader or radio frequency identifier (RFID) reader. When the user enters the room, the system detects the event generated by the user entering a particular location within the presentation environment. The server 100 handles the event triggered by the movement of a user into a presentation sub-environment, room or locale within the presentation environment 110 and determines if the user has a specific preference for configuring the space they are currently occupying. For example, in one instance when a user enters the second presentation sub-environment 1412 using a card reader connected to the system, the server 100 generates an event tied to and possessing information about the user entering the room. The server 100 uses the event handler to handle the event using a combination of default event handling and customizable elements selected by the user.

For example, the server 100 may query the enterprise server to determine whether or not the user who entered the room has scheduled the room for use. If the user is not the presenter, then the server 100 may load a basic scene to prepare the room for participants who are arriving prior to the presenter. If the user is the scheduled presenter or owner of the event then the server 100 will load the user's default preferences for the control client 102 located with or associated with the room or update the user's portable control client 102 (e.g., mobile digital assistant or smart phone) with the user's default scene configuration, presentations, and in some instances quick controls. Similarly when the user logs out of the room or leaves the room, the server 100 detects the event and will revert the room back to the default inactive scene, releasing shared resources as necessary and otherwise resetting the room to a default configuration.

In still another embodiment, the use of an RFID, such as an embedded RFID tag within a user's name badge, allows the system to track the user as they move through the presentation environment 110. As the user moves through the environment, the system uses the movement of the user to trigger specific events. For example, as the user enters the presentation environment 110, the server 100 receives an event notice that the user has entered a specific region of the presentation environment 110. The event handler uses the event information to determine that a particular presentation sub-environment configuration or scene is desired, such as displaying a welcome screen or directions on a wall or ceiling display in front of the user. As the user moves away from that location towards the next location, the server 100 responds to the event by reverting the prior presentation sub-environment back to the default scene configuration and updating the next presentation sub-environment to the next desired scene. In this manner, the server 100 is able to render a customized experience for a given user as they progress through the environment.

The movement or presence of a user at different locations within the presentation environment 110 is used by the system to generate events associated with the movement or presence of the user at different locations. An RFID or other device, such as a mobile phone or other mobile data device with a unique identifier is used in one embodiment to track or detect the user in the presentation environment 110. In still another instance, the user is tracked as they log into specific rooms or spaces, such as using a card key or pin to enter a room. In still other embodiments, the user is tracked using biometric identifiers that allow the system to monitor the users movement through the presentation environment 110. Regardless of tracking method used, the server 100 is able to monitor the presence of the user in the environment which allows events to be triggered from different user activities.

Resource Scheduling

The server 100 has also interfaces with enterprise level servers for the management and allocation of resource and meeting scheduling. These enterprise scheduling or groupware servers schedule and coordinate both personnel schedules and calendar schedules. The server 100 interfaces with the enterprise level server to publish or otherwise provide visibility of all rooms or presentation sub-environments available within the presentation environment 110 for scheduling. Further, specific devices 270 available within those rooms are also published to the enterprise level server thereby allowing users scheduling a particular room in the presentation environment 110 to select the presentation sub-environment with the desired capabilities, such as access to a particular media player 268 or video conferencing system 262, at the desired time. In this manner, the configuration of conference rooms and sub-environments within the presentation environment 110 is provided to the enterprise server from the server 100 configuration for scheduling via normal scheduling parameters. A single update to the environment configuration on the server 100 causes automatic updates to the options available to users for scheduling through the enterprise server. This reduces the potential for mismatches between the actual capabilities of the presentation environment 110 and the desired capabilities. In one instance, when device 270 failures or maintenance limit availability of devices 270 or presentation sub-environments available for use by users, the server 100 is able to notify the enterprise scheduling server that, in turn, notifies meeting attendees of problems or changes in room configuration and also prevent users from inadvertently scheduling rooms, resources or devices 270 that are unavailable at their selected meeting time.

In still another embodiment, the server 100 interfaces with the enterprise scheduling server to obtain information about which resources, devices 270, and rooms or presentation sub-environments are currently scheduled or scheduled in the future. The server 100 queries the enterprise server to obtain scheduling details for specified resources. The data obtained by the server 100 is reconfigured for presentation on the control client 102 and provided to the user. This data allows a person using the system 100 or planning maintenance to determine when times are available for using the system. In another embodiment, the server 100 is able to take resource requests from the user via the control client 102, parse the requests and provide the requests to the enterprise scheduling server to allocate the room. In this manner, the user may use the control client 102 via the server 100 to schedule rooms, devices 270, or resources on the fly without logging into a separate scheduling application.

In yet another embodiment, the scheduling information obtained by the server 100 is used to preemptively lockout rooms, or presentation sub-environments based on upcoming schedules. For example, referring again to FIG. 14, the user schedules the second presentation sub-environment 1412 at 10 AM. The server 100 uses the schedule information to create an event trigger that in one instance is simply based on a clock, or in a second instance, is based on when the second presentation sub-environment 1412 becomes available immediately prior to the meeting. The event trigger is used by the server 100 to establish a lockout on the second presentation sub-environment 1412. When the server 100 handles the event trigger, it establishes a lockout on the second presentation sub-environment 1412 holding it for the scheduled user who scheduled the environment. Once the lockout is established, the scheduled user may take over control of the second video conferencing system 1412 and use it unimpeded. In this manner, room and presentation sub-environment scheduling via an enterprise scheduling server is used in conjunction with lockouts to ensure availability of facilities when necessary or desirable.

In still another embodiment, the scheduling information obtained by the server 100 is used to preemptively lockout given devices 270, rooms, or presentation sub-environments based on upcoming schedules. For example, referring again to FIG. 14, one of the pooled devices 1450 is scheduled for use by a first user in the second presentation sub-environment 1412 at 10 AM. The server 100 uses the schedule information to create an event trigger that in one instance is simply based on a clock or, in a second instance, is based on at least one of the pooled devices 1450 becoming available immediately prior to the meeting to establish a lockout on at least one of the pooled devices 1450, such as the second video conferencing system 1402. When the second video conferencing system 1402 becomes available, a lockout is automatically established by the system on the resource for the benefit of the scheduled user. Once the lockout is established, the scheduled user may take over control of the second video conferencing system 1402 and use it unimpeded. In this manner, device 270 group, and room scheduling via an enterprise scheduling server is used in conjunction with lockouts to ensure availability of equipment when necessary or desirable.

With respect to the embodiment of the system adapted to communicate with the an Exchange server based enterprise server, the following steps are presented to demonstrate one option for configuring the server 100 and the system generally for use with an Exchange server environment.

1) Each presentation sub-environment or room is setup as a separate user account in the Active Directory services for the domain and within the Exchange server; 2) Each presentation sub-environment account is setup for resource scheduling and configured to auto-accept invitations from users; 3) One or more device groups are configured to be linked with the user account; 4) Each device group is now capable of being queried to get the schedule through the server 100; and 5) Each device group is now capable of being reserved via the Exchange server environment. These exemplary steps provide to one of ordinary skill in the art the necessary knowledge to adapt the present system and method to other enterprise servers.

Scene Control

The control client 102, in one embodiment, has the ability to edit the fine details of all devices associated with a specific scene. The control client 102, presents the user with a listing of all possible devices 270 that can be saved in a particular scene. The user can select specific devices 270, and the server 100 will save the state of the device 270 corresponding to the operation of that device 270 in the specified scene, such as volume levels for an audio device 258, along with the details of the scene. In addition to saving specific device states, the user can also retain specific routing information between devices 270 associated with a specific scene. The data corresponding to specific device 270 states and routing information is stored as application data 204 in the database 202. In this manner the user, through the control client 102, can rapidly save and restore specific routing and device configuration for reuse at a later time.

Fine Grained Scene Control

When specifying a scene, the user can also define events, such as when a specific action will occur, or how long a given scene is active. In this manner, the user can string multiple scenes together to form a presentation. For example in a simple case, a first scene can be used to create an opening, pre-presentation lighting and presentation environment where ambient music is piped into the room from a media player 268 and sent to an audio device 258, but there is no connection between a presentation laptop 150 and the main projector 164 enabling the presenter to ready materials and allow the audience to enter the room unhindered. When the presentation is ready to begin, a second scene is activated where the lights 260 are lowered to enhance visibility, window shades 266 are drawn, and the laptop 150 video output is connected to the projector 164 and the media player 268 is stopped.

Using fine-grained scene control, a user is able to adapt a specific scene definition to only effect a subset of devices 270 located in a specific performance environment 110 necessary to change state or adopt specific setting necessary to implement the scene relative to the prior scene. In this manner, when multiple scenes are activated sequentially, for example during a presentation, or by user command, the only actions and commands sent to the devices 270 by the server 100 are those necessary to change the state of the devices 270 and the configuration of the presentation environment 110 to achieve the desired new scene configuration. Thus all other device 270 configurations and settings remaining from a prior scene that are unchanged in the new scene can be left constant. For example, at the end of a presentation a scene could be created for a question and answer period, whereby the only change from the presentation scene configuration to the question and answer configuration is to have the lights 260 raised to a desired intensity level to enable the presenter to view the audience asking questions. Using fine-grained scene control, the question and answer scene following a presentation scene would only address a single set of devices 270, namely lights 260 and all other parameters would be left unchanged from the prior scene.

Fine grained scene control enables the system to transition smoothly from scene to scene. For example, if a presentation requires first lowering the light 260 and playing an introductory clip from a DVD player 154 on the projector 164 in a first scene, and then proceeding to a user presentation from a laptop 150 using the same resolution on the projector 164 with the lights 260 at the same reduced level in the next scene, then the only change to any devices 270 necessary for that scene-to-scene transition would be to change the A/V source routing to the projector 164 from the DVD player 154 to the laptop 150. The lights 260 and projector 164 would not have to be reconfigured. If the lights 260 were reset back to full on or full off before being set again to the reduced level, or the projector 164 reset, viewers could perceive a momentary flicker. Similarly, unnecessary switching or resetting of A/V sources could cause unnecessary audible clicks or pops. Therefore, only changes that represent the differences from one scene to the next scene are made thus smoothing transitions.

In one embodiment, transitions from one scene to another scene in a presentation are user driven. In another embodiment, the transitions are handled by an event engine in the server 100. The event engine has an event response handler that identifies events and then switches scenes or modifies the presentation environment based on the event. For example, the event engine may wait for a user prompt before transitioning from a first scene to a second scene. Additionally, the event handler could automatically trigger the configuring of a number of presentation environments 110 at a specific time, for example to prepare a number of rooms 502 in different cities for a multi-party conference call. The event engine can also accept events triggered outside the server 100, for example a remote service call placed over a network 118 to remotely test a presentation environment 110 by a system administrator or service provider.

In still another embodiment of scene control, the server 100, utilizes the current state of the devices 270 in the presentation environment 110 to determine whether or not a re-initialization or reconfiguration of the device is required based on a specified transition or change from a first configuration to a second configuration. Thus, when the event engine identifies a required transition, namely the need to configure or initialize a device 270 in the presentation environment 110 based on the detection of an event, the changes in state of the devices 270 associated with the required transition are checked against the stored state of the devices 270. The check determines if a given device 270 is current in the proper state to enable the new presentation environment 110 configurations and then only provides commands to the given device 270 when a change to the device is required. The scene control further evaluates the type of change to the device 270 state requested as part of the transition. For example, a requested transition may only require a single device 270 state to be changed as a result. Rather than configuring the device 270 state as a whole, only that sub-set of the device 270 state that has been changed is controlled. The ability to configure only a sub-set of the device 270 states is partially enabled by the controllability of the device itself, in some cases some commands are unavailable for specific device 270, in which case the device 270 configuration definition specifies the states that can be independently manipulated during system operation. In this manner the states of devices 270 present in the presentation environment 110 can be changed in-line during system operation without the need to issue configuration commands to the entire set of devices 270 present in the presentation environment 110.

In still yet another embodiment of scene control, an access control user interface 1800 is shown in FIG. 18. The access control user interface 1800 provides a user with the controls needed to select and/or change, i.e., adjust, the level of access available to certain securable objects 1804. In one embodiment, the access types pull down 1802 identifies what types of access, e.g., presentation, group, or features, can be selected. The securable objects pull down 1804 identifies which objects for a selected access type are available to a user. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 18, device 270 control is selected for adjustment. In other embodiments, objects such as routing control, report viewer, presentation view, etc., can be selected for adjustment. The roles/users screen 1806 identifies what roles are available for the selected secured object. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 18, for example, users designated as “administrator” have access to device 270 control, as indicated by “available,” while users designated “guest users” do not, as indicated by “not available”. To activate a selected level of access control, permissions pull down 1808 provides a summary of the level of access for the selected role/user, as well as, provides a user with the ability to activate the selected level of access via the user selection box 1810 in which, in this embodiment, the user may select “available” or “not available.” The access control user interface 1800 allows specific access controls to be set for the different types of securable objects.

Event Engine

A component of the application service 306 is an event engine. The event engine comprises three principle components, event generators, an event monitor, and an event handler. These three components work in concert to identify specific occurrences in the environment or the system, including user inputs, and respond to those occurrences. The event engine enables the system to adapt to changes in or inputs from the environment, including the failure of specific components or devices 270.

The system possesses event generators that generate internal events for the system based on specific requirements or desired occurrences. The event generators can reside and generate events from any internal service or sub-routine. Some examples of events include timers, alarms, other alerts that are generated during startup, configuration and implementation of the system and specific scenes, alerts that are triggered upon occurrence of a specific event such as a sensor exceeding a specified threshold value or another triggers that occur during operation. These internal events are passed to the event monitor for identification, recording and classification.

The event monitor supervises the overall system to identify, record and classify the occurrence of specific events. These events are sequentially recorded as they emerge or are generated from the system during operation. Some events captured by the event monitor include internal events generated by the event generator, failures, errors or reporting messages received from devices 270, inputs from environmental devices, other communications and user interface inputs. The event monitor thus captures specific events occurring on the system regardless of where they are generated and passes the events to the event handler for disposition. The event monitor thus logs and in some embodiments optionally maintains a record of specific events experienced by the system during operation.

The event handler processes or handles a given event that has been captured by the event monitor. The event handler determines the type of event that has occurred, determines whether it falls into a specific class of events that has a pre-defined response or if there is a unique response specific to the type of event and then triggers the appropriate sub-functions or routines necessary to respond to the event. In some circumstances the responses to given events is to change a scene as described above, other responses include notifying the user, logging the event, or performing other functions. In this manner, the event engine enables the system is able to dynamically respond to multiple occurrences or triggers found in the system and the environment.

IP Phone Connectivity

In one embodiment of the system and method for audio visual control and integration, there is a connection from the server to an internet protocol, or IP phone 210, also referred to as a Voice over IP (VoIP) Phone 210. The VoIP phone 210 is connected to either or both an internal and external network that can transmit voice communications and in some cases can also transmit video streams and other data. The interface to the IP Phone 210 is provided by the IP Phone Interface Component 212 that implements a logical interface with IP phones 210. The IP Phone Interface Component 212 implements an XML, based schema for interfacing with a given make and model IP Phone 210, including routing information and feedback from the phone into the application service 306 as well as providing commands to the IP phone 210 itself.

The flexibility of the IP Phone Interface Component 212 is the ability for the phone interface to be customized by the type of hardware being interfaced and even the room being used. For example, in one embodiment, an IP Phone manufacturer using the standards defined above, can create a highly customized, rich user interface that is presented to a person using a control client 102 that enables that person to effectively control the features and capabilities of that particular manufacturers IP Phone 210. Similarly, an administrator can control access to the features and capabilities of a given IP Phone 210 in order to achieve specific goals. For example, an administrator may restrict outgoing calls from an IP Phone 210 connected to a secure conference room to only other internal phones in order to limit potential disclosure of information.

Second Exemplary Environment

FIGS. 10 and 11 depict a second exemplary environment 1000 with multiple sources, outputs, switches, and detached devices. For the purposes of FIGS. 10 and 11 only, the following naming conventions is used for the figures whereby all devices and their associated interface nodes or ports are described using the key [10a # n #] where a represents the type of device 270 (s=source, o=output, i=switch or interface or flow control, and e=environment device or controls), followed by a unique number whereby s1 refers to the first source device 120. The finally two letters and number indicate whether the node is a communication node “c” or an interface node “n” followed by a unique number identifying the that node for the given device. The sources are referred to collectively as sources 10s, outputs are collectively referred to as outputs 10o, switches are collectively referred to as switches 10i, and detached device or environmental controls as controls 10e.

FIG. 10 depicts a command level view of the second exemplary environment 1000 that details the command interface connections between the server 100 and the other devices 270, such as the sources 10S1-10S3, outputs 10o1-10o4, switches 10i1-10i3, and environmental controls 10e1-10e3 located within the exemplary environment 1000.

FIG. 11 depicts a signal level diagram of the second exemplary environment 1000 details the physical interface between the signal ports or nodes of the sources, outputs and switches located within the exemplary environment 1000. Table I provide details of the various sources, outputs, switches and device controls in the second exemplary environment while Table II provides exemplary devices including the respective sources, outputs, switches, and device controls represent in two different applications.

TABLE I Table of Sources 120, Outputs 130, Switches and Control Devices 140 Including Associated Nodes Depicted in the Second Exemplary Environment: Associated Associated Device Device Communication Interface Name ID node ID Node ID Source Device 10s1 s1c1 s1n1 #1 s1n2 s1n3 Source Device 10s2 s2c1 s2n1 #2 s2n2 Source Device 10s3 s3c1 s3n1 #3 s3n2 s3n3 Interface Device 10I1 I1c1 I1n1 #1 I1n2 I1n3 I1n4 Interface Device 10I2 I2c1 I2n1 #2 I2n2 I2n3 I2n4 Interface Device 10I3 I3c1 I3n1 #3 I3n2 I3n3 I3n4 I3n5 I3n6 I3n7 I3n8 Output Device 10D1 d1c1 d1n1 #1 Output Device 10D2 d2c1 d2n1 #2 d2n2 Output Device 10D3 d3c1 d3n1 #3 d3n2 d3n3 Output Device 10D4 d4c1 d4n1 #4 d4n1 Environment 10e1 e1c1 — Device #1 Environment 10e2 e2c1 — Device #2 Environment 10e3 e3c1 — Device #3

TABLE II Exemplary Devices For Audio Visual Applications or Building Systems Corresponding to the Respective Sources 120, Outputs 130, Switches and Control Devices 140 Shown in the Second Exemplary Environment: Device Device Exemplary Audio Exemplary Building Name ID Visual Devices Systems Devices Source Device 10s1 DVD Player 154 Chilled Water #1 Supply Source Device 10s2 Satellite Receiver Fresh Air Supply #2 182 Source Device 10s3 Computer 150 Conditioned Air #3 Supply Interface Device 10I1 Switch 170 Heat Exchanger #1 Interface Device 10I2 Switch 170 Mixer #1 #2 Interface Device 10I3 Switch 170 Mixer #2 #3 Output Device 10D1 Audio Amplifier Water Supply #1 258 Output Device 10D2 Monitor 162 Room Vent #1 #2 Output Device 10D3 Projector 164 Room Vent #2 #3 Output Device 10D4 Projector 164 Room Vent #3 #4 Environment 10e1 Light Control Light Control Device #1 260 Environment 10e2 Window Shade Thermostat Device #2 Control 266 Environment 10e3 Ambient Light Humidity Sensor Device #3 Sensor

Installer

One embodiment of the installation system for the system and method for audio visual control and integration provides a system to enable an end user to rapidly install all of the required elements of the system for a given user installation in one single pass. The installer installs all components of the system, including, but not limited to the control language, the application server 100, and the database 202. As part of the installation sequence, the installer will configure the system to support specified hardware devices 270.

Part of the installer system includes a tool or wizard interface for gathering information from the user about the presentation environment 110 to be controlled, namely providing a guided means for configuring the server 100 for the given presentation environment. In an exemplary installation, the user would define the physical rooms 502, or zones to be controlled. The user would provide the server 100 with information regarding the devices 270 available to be controlled within the room. Each device 270, can have a customized device control 506 interface for that particular type of device provided by the device driver or have a generic device control 506 interface suited for that specific type of device 270. For example, a customized device control 506 interface may be configured with specific commands to activate features of a projector 164 such as rescaling, color, or brightness while a generic device control 506 interface for a light 260 simply signals a control line to switch state and turn the light on or off. Then the user configures the static connections within the presentation environment 110. The static connections define all of the connections between devices 270 that are potentially available to be controlled. Additional details on the specific configuration process to adapt and model a given presentation environment 110 or the second exemplary environment 1000 is provided below.

Configuring the System

The initial configuration of an arbitrary environment, such as the second exemplary environment 1000 depicted in FIGS. 10 and 11, is initiated by the installation of any or all of the devices and static connections or additions to or deletions from the devices and static connections present within the second exemplary environment 1000. The configuration of the system to control the devices present within the second exemplary environment 1000 is accomplished via either a manual configuration process or automated configuration process as described below.

Manual Configuration Process

The manual configuration process 1200 for the system is detailed in FIG. 12a . The manual configuration process 1200 is initiated 1202 upon either the initial installation and setup of the second exemplary environment 1000 or upon the addition or deletion of one or more a new devices or static connections between devices to the second exemplary environment 1000. For example, the manual configuration process 1200 in one case is initiated by the addition of a third source device 10s3 to the second exemplary environment 1000 and the connection of the second node of the third source device 10s3|n2 to the first node of the second interface switch 10i2|n1 thereby creating an 10s3->10i2 static connection or link between the respective nodes.

For the manual configuration process 1200, the system is updated directly by manual input. In this case first the third source device 10s3 is added to the definition or representation of the second exemplary environment 1000 stored in the database 202. A device update 1204 is performed to define the devices 270 present in the environment that are part of the system, for example the device update 1204 in the case of the addition of the third source device 10s3 to the second exemplary environment 1000 would provide basic details on the third source device 10s3, such as the type, make, manufacturer, model number and other details.

In yet another embodiment, where the third source device 10s3 is capable of announcing its presence in the second exemplary environment 1000 after being powered up or during initial configuration using either a standard plug-n-play or other announcement process the system receives the announcement over the server communication port 1006 that interfaces via a server communication link 1008 the system to the second exemplary environment, in some cases this communication port or communication node associated with the server 1006 is used as the server's 100 second interface to the command level network of the second exemplary environment 1000. The announcement is the equivalent of starting or initiating the device update 1204 process manually, except the update process is triggered by the announcement generated by the third source device 10s3. The server 100 receives the announcement from the new device added to the second exemplary environment 1000. The announcement generates an event that is captured by the event monitor on the application service 306. The event handler portion of the application service 306 then initiates 1202 the setup process and starts the input of device details using information provided by the third source device 10s3 as part of its announcement process.

After the device update 1204 is started the newly added device, in this case the third source device 10s3, must be configured. First the server 100 performs a driver search 1206 to determine whether there exists in the system a driver definition, driver interface definition, or simply driver file appropriate for the type of installed device in the system's driver library. If the driver search locates or identifies 1208 a driver for the device to be installed, then the next step in the process is to prompt the user to gather 1210 any optional or additional device details on the installed device. Some additional details input by the user may include specific details of the installation environment, easy to remember names for the devices (e.g. Conf. Room #2 Projector) and other details as prompted by either the system itself or the device driver.

If no driver definition file exists on the server 100, the system queries 1220 a driver store or remote server with multiple drivers available under a variety of different terms and conditions. The driver store in one embodiment is accessible via a wide area network such as the Internet. If a driver is available 1222, then the driver store retrieval process 1224 begins to retrieve the appropriate or requested driver for transfer to the server 100. In one embodiment the driver store retrieval process 1224 includes either encrypting the entire driver file using an asymmetric key accessible on the driver store or alternatively encrypting a token or license key to be used by the server 100 to unlock or access the driver file after download. The driver file is transferred to the server 100, and the server 100 unlocks or decrypts and installs 1226 the driver file into local driver definition file storage on the server 100. After completing the driver retrieval process 1224 and decryption and installation process 1226, the process returns to gather 1210 the device details. In another embodiment, the user manually queries a driver store and manually identifies and downloads a driver file that is provided to the system for installation directly by the user.

If the driver store does not have a driver available 1222 for the device to be installed, such as the third source device 10s3, then the driver store will attempt to identify an alternative driver 1228 or default driver to use with the device to be installed. For example, in the case where the third source device 10s3 is a DVD player 154, if the driver availability 1222 shows no drive file specifically suited for the specific type of DVD player 154 to be installed in the system, then a search is conducted to identify an alternative driver 1228 to be used. In the case of the DVD player 154, a default driver might be a generalized DVD player driver that simply powers up the DVD player 154 without any additional command inputs to the third source device 10s3 command port s3c1. In some circumstances the command port, such as s3c1 does not directly command the third source device 10s3 direct, rather it simply controls a remote control switch that selectively activates or powers up the selected device. After identifying an alternative driver 1228 to be used the user is then prompted to gather 1210 device details. In the case of a generalized or generic device driver file additional information collected during the gather 1210 process in some embodiments can include specific command strings that can be issued by the server 100 in order to access specific functionality of the device to be installed, or in the embodiment depicted the third source device 10s3.

The process for configuring an embodiment of the system to control an arbitrary environment begins by defining and configuring the nodes 1212 associated with or integral to specific devices 270 in the environment and establishing the static connections or links between the devices 270. In the case of the second exemplary environment 1000 each of the devices 270 located or associated with the environment, regardless whether or not the devices 270 are physically connected to the environment or only connected to the environment via a communication or other link posses at least one node, a communication node, or communication port, or command port. One sub-step of configuring the nodes 1212 or ports used by an arbitrary device 270 is to define the communications used by the system to communicate and address the device 270. In the second exemplary environment, a communication node exists for the third source device 10s3, namely the third source device 10s3 communication node s3c1. In this embodiment the third source device 10s3 communication node s3c1 is connected to a network hub 1004, this enables the server 100 to directly communicate with the third source device 10s3 via the network. The process of configuring the nodes 1212 for the third source device 10s3 communication node s3c1 in one embodiment includes defining a specific internet protocol address or network device ID for the third source device 10s3 that enables the server 100 to communicate commands and receive information from the third source device 10s3.

Similarly in the second exemplary environment 1000, the first source device 10s1 undergoes the similar process of defining and configuring the nodes 1212. The first source device 10s1 possesses a first source device 10s1 communication node s1c1, which in this embodiment is a serial communication interface port. The serial port is connected to a serial port on the serial device server 1002, the serial1 node. The serial device server 1002 allows the server 100 to address the first source device 10s1 via a network interface on the server 1002 that is translated by the serial device server 1002 to serial communication via the serial1 node. Thus during the process of defining and configuring nodes 1212 and gathering 1210 device details for the first source device 10s1 and the serial device server 1002, an address for the serial device server is provided to the server 100 and the specific address or serial communication interface ports, in this example the serial1 node, is also provided to the server 100 to store in the environmental model in the database 202 thereby enabling the application service 306 to retrieve the environmental model configuration details from the system to communicate with the various devices. In a similar manner a second serial device server 1003 is addressed by the server 100.

In addition to defining and configuring the nodes 1212, the communication interfaces, ports, or communication nodes are setup and associated with a given device 270. The device driver includes or in alternative embodiments with generalized drivers the user inputs details of the nodes available and associated with a given device 270 in the environment. In the case of the second exemplary environment 1000, each device 270 in the environment has a number of nodes associated with it. As described above, one of the nodes associated with a given device is the communication node that enables communication between a given device 270 and the server 100 in order to receive configuration information, transmit to the server 100 specific device-generated messages, and to otherwise accept commands from the system. The second major category of nodes associated with a device 270 is nodes that enable devices in the environment to be linked together, or link nodes. These link nodes anchor each end of a static connection or link between devices 270 in the environment. A given device 270 may have several associated nodes, however the configuration of the environment may limit the number of nodes that are actually linked together with other nodes associated with other devices 270 in the environment. Thus part of the configuration task is defining and configuring nodes 1212 and defining static connections 1214. Although the configuration flow chart shows an idealized view of the system whereby the task of defining and configuring nodes 1212 appears to precede the step of defining static connections 1214; in most embodiments though, these tasks proceed in parallel for most systems. Namely, in conjunction with defining and configuring the nodes 1212 in the environment, the static connections or links within the environment between devices 270 are also defined 1214.

The device driver details for a given device 270 contain details on all of the nodes associated with that type, make, model and style of device 270. For example in the case of the third source device 10s3 depicted in FIGS. 10 and 11 of the second exemplary environment 1000, there is one third source device 10s3 command port s3c1 available for connection to the system, which as detailed above has specific capabilities and configuration details associated with a network command port. Similarly, the third source device 10s3 is associated with three interface nodes or link nodes, the first link node s3n1, second link node s3n2, and third link node s3n3. The device driver possesses the basic details of the characteristics and configurations of these interface nodes or link nodes associated with the third source device 10s3. For example, in one embodiment where the second exemplary environment 1000 is an audio-visual controlled environment where the third source device 10s3 is a DVD player 154, the first link node s3n1 is a be a stereo audio output while the second link node s3n2 is a composite video output and the third link node s3n3 is an VGA output. During the process of installing the third source device 10s3 into the second exemplary environment 1000 static connections, physical links, or simply links are established between specific nodes on the third source device 10s3 and other devices in the environment. These static interconnections reflect the actual routing of cabling or other physical or logical links established between devices 270 during installation and reflect linkages between the interface nodes that comprise the individual devices. Referring to FIG. 11 in this embodiment, a physical link or static connection established with the third source device 10s3 via the first link node s3n1 is the 10s3-10i2 link. This 10s3-10i2 link thus connects the third source device 10s3 through the first node s3n1 to the second interface device 10i2 via the second input node 10i2n2. By virtual of the physical connection established within the second exemplary environment 1000 between the devices 270 via the associated nodes on the devices it is possible to associate the nodes on both devices 270 with the ends static connection formed between the nodes as well as the devices 270 themselves. In this manner the process of defining static connections 1214 in the environment is together with gathering 1210 device details and configuring and defining and configuring nodes 1212 until all physical devices 270 and static connections in the second exemplary environment 1000 are input into the environment model.

In this manner, the system develops and stores a model of the environment to be controlled within the server 100. This model of the second exemplary environment 1000 and the devices 270 available in the second exemplary environment 1000 as developed and defined in the configuration process 1200, is stored in the database 202 and used by the application service 306 to address, communication, supervise and control the devices 270. The environmental model stored 1216 within the database 202 uses the details imported from the device driver files and the details of the actual installation to model the system relative to the details of the devices 270 and interconnections between devices 270 present, in this embodiment, in the second exemplary environment 1000.

The configuration process 1200 to gather 1210 device details, define and configure nodes 1212 and define static connections 1214 for a server 100 can occur during the initial installation of the server 100 for use in a given environment and can re-occur at any point in the future after the initial installation when other changes to the environment occur. These changes can range from the integration of new equipment or new capability devices 270 into the environment or loss, removal, or damage to devices 270, command links, or physical or static connections within the environment. Upon a change to the environment the configuration process 1200 is used to update the environmental model.

In some embodiments, when a given device 270 is removed from the environment and is no longer available for communication the server 100, the event handler can identify the repeated failures to communicate and power up a given device 270 that is otherwise configured within the system to be present and available in the environment. In these circumstances, the server 100 uses the event details and the failure of the device 270 to temporarily remove the non-responsive device 270 and all the device's 270 associated nodes from the working model that is stored by the application service 306 during operation based on the environmental model stored in the database 202. By removing a non-responsive element from the working model used by the server 100 to operate it is possible for the system to route around the malfunctioning or non-responsive device 270 and still function at the highest level possible. Further, the system possesses the ability to prompt the user to warn them that the system has unresponsive devices 270, thereby allowing the user to reconfigure the system by removing the unresponsive devices 270 from the environmental model or to dispatch a technician to repair the unresponsive or malfunctioning device 270. In this manner, the environment model is used to maintain system configuration details from use to use and is updated using the configuration process 1200 to model all of the devices 270 in the environment and their relationship to the environment and each other.

Automatic Configuration Via Import

In yet another embodiment of the system, an automatic configuration process is used to import the details of the second exemplary environment 1000 or upon the addition or deletion of one or more new devices 270 or static connections between devices 270. In this yet another embodiment, a computer aided drafting (CAD) program is used to develop and design installation drawings for the devices 270 and static connections within a given environment 110. One exemplary program used to develop these drawings is VizCAD. In this embodiment of the system, an importer is used to import the details from the drawings in the CAD system into the database 202. The importer effectively performs several steps in the configuration process 1200 by automating part or all of the process for inputting device details 1204, gather 1210 device details, defining and configuring nodes 1212, and defining static connections 1214 by using the same designs and drawings created as part of the original design process for the environment and using the same information used by the technicians that configured the devices 270, the static connections and the overall environment.

In one embodiment of the importer, a spreadsheet based, scripted application is developed to import design data from the CAD drawings. In one non-exhaustive embodiment Microsoft® Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is used in conjunction with Microsoft Excel®. The drawing details are exported from the CAD program to an exported data file representing an ordered set of data representing the installed devices 270 present in the environment including any nodes associated with those devices and any static connections established between those nodes. The process starts with a CAD export process, whereby the data is exported into an intermediate structured or ordered set data file, such as a comma or tab delimited text file. The CAD export process is typically a form of a database query, such as a SQL-based query entered into an export engine native to the CAD program. This query, in one embodiment is manually entered by the user, in yet another embodiment the query is automatically retrieved from the CAD program by external query initiated by the importer.

The exported data file, or files depending on the details of the particular embodiment of the importer, is used to populate three data areas of the database 202—devices 270, device groups, and static connections. The information related to devices 270, or device information, includes its unique system name, manufacturer and model, input and output nodes, and extended properties which may have been added in CAD, such as purchase date, physical location within the facility, unique identifier or asset tracking codes. Device groups identify collections of linked devices 270 that are functionally or spatially related to each other. These device groups are often in the case of an embodiment of the system used for A/V applications representative of a single room in the presentation environment 110. The information related to static connections provides the routing details for any wiring or links that connect the nodes of individual devices 270 to other nodes through the environment 110. In the case of a presentation environment 110, the routing information contains details of signal type, for example audio and video signals.

In some cases, the importer abstracts additional details from the exported data file prior to import into the database 202 in order to remove or collapse specific details about the environment that the system does not or is not capable of manipulating. In one example, the video signal being carried by one embodiment of a static connection in a presentation environment 110 that is transformed from a standard VGA to an Ethernet-based signal and then back to VGA using three physical wires and one VGA-to-Ethernet and one Ethernet-to-VGA converters in order to transfer the signal over a greater distance is abstracted by the importer into a single static connection since the two converters are effectively transparent to the system. The importer abstracts or collapses these additional details during the conversion process. Specifically, the importer possesses a list of devices in a specific class, separate and distinct from the devices 270 that are controlled by the system, that provide conversion or signal boosting in the environment. In one form, these devices are simple direct input devices, meaning that they have one input node and one output node with no specifically controllable features that are addressed by the system. The no controllable features distinguishes them from other direct input devices such as windowing converters that are addressed by the system to convert a given video signal from one format (e.g. 4:3 ratio) to a second format (e.g. 16:9 ratio). The importer first identifies a connection to or from one of these simple direct input device in the data file obtained from the CAD design. When the importer locates a first simple direct input device, it then performs a search through all of the devices connected to the identified simple direct input device until it finds a matching simple direct input device. In this manner the importer logically connects and associates simple direct input devices and uses the identified relation to abstract them and eliminate them from the static connection that is imported into the system.

The importer leverages the data entered into the development of the design drawings in the CAD system thereby reducing the potential for transcription errors and speeding up the initial setup and maintenance of the system. In addition to speeding the population of the database 202, the intermediate translation of the data files exported from the CAD program in the spreadsheet provides a second reference for personnel using the system to identify specific aspects and details of the system. For example a technician troubleshooting a problem or installing the system can use the spreadsheet output to verify that specific static connections between devices 270 have been properly created per the desired design.

After the importer populates the database 202, the application service 306 identifies the devices 270 added to the environment and determines whether or not device drivers are available for each device 270. If a device driver is not available or the device 270 possesses additional configuration details or other configuration settings that were not represented in the CAD file the user is prompted to obtain the device driver files or enter the appropriate information for storage in the database 202.

Route Mapping

Once the environmental model is defined for the server 100 as part of the configuration process 1200, route map defining the full set of all possible connections and interconnections that can be established in the environment based on the available static connections, nodes associated with devices 270 and the devices 270 is created.

The process of generating a route map comprising the following steps is described in relation to the second exemplary environment 1000. The server 100 evaluates all of the source nodes and destination nodes associated with the sources 10s and outputs 10o available to the server 100 in the second exemplary environment 1000. The server 100 then generates the route map by finding all of the possible routes that can be established between each respective source and destination nodes associated with the sources 10s and outputs 10o. The route map is established from each destination node, input node, or input port of each of the outputs 10o, such as the output device 1001, to any of the possible output ports or output nodes of the sources 10s that can supply the desired or appropriate types of signal, data, streams, or flows for the input nodes associated with the destination output device 10o1. The generation of the route map for a given presentation environment 110 is typically performed only when the server 100 is initially configured for the second exemplary environment 1000 or after changes have occurred. These route maps associated with a given environment 110, such as the second exemplary environment 1000 with its multiple interface devices 10i1-10i3 respectively, are created by the system during initialization. This enables the system to determine whether or not all devices 270 in the environment 110 are responding to device commands prior to using the devices 270 as part of the available presentation route maps in a given environment. These route maps represent the physical effect of the specific configuration and capabilities of devices 270 installed in the environment as manifest within the environmental model.

The route maps in one embodiment are represented as series of tree like structures that travel up the static connections or links between specific outputs 10o to connect to available sources 10s. Referring to the exemplary tree link maps in FIG. 13, all possible reverse paths between outputs 10o and sources 10s are represented within the route map. A first portion 1310 of a route map details all of the reverse links between the second output device 10d2 that link or form a connection with any of the sources 10s shown as reverse links. Each of the arrows in the first portion 1310 of a route map represents a static connection or link between singular nodes established within the second exemplary environment 1000 connecting one node to another. Nodes that have multiple connections between themselves and other nodes indicate that a selectable connection or link exists, such as that found in switches 10i. The first portion 1310 of a route map is formed for each of the outputs 10o by stepping through each and every connection from the node under consideration that leads to source nodes. In the case of an audio visual system, the route map is only formed ‘upstream’ meaning that connections are only followed in the opposite direction to the data flow—meaning in the case of an audio-visual system the route map is established in an anti-sense direction from the output device 130 to the input or source device 120. In this manner the route map is used to populate trees that detail all available links between sources 10s and outputs 10o from node to node. This then allows the routes to be represented as shown in FIG. 13 in the first portion 1310 of a route map

After generating the route map all operations required by the server 100 prior to performing routing operations to form connections between sources 10s and outputs 10o in the second exemplary environment 1000 are completed. In one embodiment the route map is formed during the initial startup of the server 100 using the environmental model stored in the database 202. The route map is then loaded into a working model of the environment that is then manipulated during operation of the server 100 by the application service 306. In a second embodiment, the basis of initial route map is also stored in the database 202 for retrieval during startup to populate the working model of the environment used by the application service 306 during operation of the system. In both cases the working model of the environment is updated from the time-to-time during normal operation in response to changes in the server 100, including removing devices 270 from the working model due to events that have occurred or removing specific routes available based on other routes that are implemented as part of a scene being applied to the environment.

Intelligent Routing Engine

The intelligent routing engine or simply the routing algorithm is comprised of multiple discrete functions that operate together to identify routes and connections between sources 10s and outputs 10o suitable for the type of information or type of flow to be transferred or accommodated within and through the environment. The routing algorithm is implemented within the web server 200, within the application service 306, that is physically hosted on the server 100. The routing algorithm utilizes both dynamic (i.e. working model) and static (e.g. environmental model) application data 204 that is stored in the database 202 to create, identify, and establish valid connections between sources 10s outputs 10o located in an environment such as the second exemplary environment 1000. The Routing Algorithm is implemented as a functional element of the server 100 and is used during both initial configuration of the server 100 to establish initial routes when implementing a desired scene or whenever a new configuration of connections from a given source to a given output is required during operation.

The routing algorithm operates on the working model of the environment described above. The working model itself is derived from the environmental model established with the configuration 1200 process and stored in the database 202. Thus the routing algorithm identifies routes or paths through the environment for flows using the information and details input into the server 100 during the configuration 1200 process. Prior to starting the routing algorithm an environmental model and working model of the environment are created. The configuration 1200 process provides the environmental model with details of all the devices and specifics related to those devices 270 present within a given environment, including the communication and interface nodes associated with those devices and the respective static connections or links that connect the interface nodes between and within discrete devices 270 such as the sources 10s, outputs 10o and switches 10i.

The working model of the environment reflects the current state or status of the server 100, including the present states or configurations of each individual device 270 located in the second exemplary environment 1000 including controls 10e. The working model of the environment thus effectively represents a full state model, or configuration model of an arbitrary environment whereby static connections, device 270 details, and dynamic details (e.g. the linking or switching of two interface nodes in a switch 10i to select a specific path through the switch and link the respective static connections that terminate at interface nodes associated with the switch 10i) of the environment at a given time. The routing algorithm uses the working model to establish new connections or links between devices 270 located in the environment comprising a number of static connections or links along with the nodes that terminate each of the static connections and the devices 270 that are associated with those nodes. When a route is established each node along the path is effectively associated with two separate elements of the system, first the device 270 the node is associated with originally and the node is also associated with the route or link it is part of that is established through the environment to link a desired source 10s with a desired output 10o. The working model utilizes a routing map to reflects all available routes and connections that may be established in an environment. The routing algorithm uses the routing map and the respective trees representations of the routing maps, to determine available routes or paths between selected devices 270.

When a specific pair of devices 270 is selected to be interconnected in the interface layer or data layer either by the user directly during operation of the server 100 by inputting a desired pair of devices 270 to be connected through the user interface of the control client 102 or while implementing a new scene, the routing algorithm is used to determine the proper configuration or state for the system to adopt to accomplish the desired outcome. When the server 100 is initially starting up, and the environment is unconfigured and the devices are ready, but no routes or paths through the environment have been created, the routing algorithm is applied to a first pair of devices 270 to be connected within the environment and it determines the proper route, in other words the routing algorithm identifies the configuration of devices 270, including the device's associated nodes, and static connections interconnecting the associated nodes in order to create a path between the devices 270. The resulting path updates the working model of the environment to reflect the fact that a portion of the system within the environment is now dedicated to establishing a desired link between the sources 10s and the outputs 10o. By dedicating some links in the environment to this first route, there is an effective reduction in the total number of available routes and the application service 306 updates the working model to reflect this reduction in potential routes and the new states of the devices 270 implicated by the newly established route. The newly establish route is then queued for implementation in the environment via the server 100 issuing configuration commands to the devices 270 in the environment to establish the route that the algorithm has identified. During startup, the next pairing of devices 270 is used to establish a second route and so on until all pairs of devices are either connected or the system generates an event indicating to the user that the desired configuration cannot be created or another event occurs to interrupt the process.

A similar process is used to generate a route when a new pair of connections is desired after a scene is already implemented. For example if the system is already configured in a particular state to implement a specific scene, the working model holds the device states to implement that scene. Upon shifting to a new scene the application service 306 updates the working model on the server 100 to reflect any presently configured routes that are no longer needed in the new scene and proceeds to form any new routes required by the new scene. The routing algorithm is applied to the working model to determine the desired device 270 states to implement the new routes required by the new scene.

The intelligent routing algorithm, or simply routing algorithm uses a recursive algorithm to traverse the available nodes and static connections or links available to traverse across the system from the desired output 10o to the desired source 10s. In this manner the routing algorithm identifies a desired path through the environment comprising at least the desired source 10s and desired output 10o device and at least one nodes associated with each of those sources 10s and outputs 10o and the static connections that terminate with those respective nodes. In one embodiment of the system a recursive algorithm is used to traverse the routing maps to identify the desired route. Different embodiments of the routing algorithm use different types of search routines, including the following recursive search algorithms: breadth-first search, depth limited search, A*, Dijkstra's algorithm, best-first search, and dynamic programming generally. Alternative algorithms including non-recursive and non-traditional algorithms are available for use by those of ordinary skill in the art.

In one embodiment of the system a recursive depth first search algorithm is used to traverse the routing tree starting with the output 10o device. The output 10o device is effectively the root of the tree. There can be one or more input nodes or input ports associated with the output 10o device. If the desired input is capable of providing signals that can be accepted by any of the input nodes associated with the desired output 10o device, then all possible input nodes associated with the output device in the environment are considered, otherwise only the reduced number of input nodes associated with the output 10o device are considered. The routing algorithm starts with the selected output 10o device and evaluates any static connections available from input nodes associated with the selected output 10o device that it then traverses or ‘travels’ away from the output 10o toward the source 10s. The depth first search algorithm prioritizes driving directly toward the goal of the source device at the expense of potential dead-end routes. Thus the routing algorithm travels along the static connection that terminates at the input node associated with the output 10o device to the other terminating node of the static connection. The other terminating node of the selected static connection is associated with a second device 270 in the environment, including switches 10i, sources 10s, and in some embodiments other outputs 10o. The algorithm then evaluates the other nodes associated with this second device in the environment that are able to switch and connect with the present node to determine whether any of the nodes offer the ability to leave the second device and continue toward the desired destination, namely the desired source 10s. If another node associated with second device exists that terminates a second static connection, the routing algorithm follows this path to the node associated with the other terminus of the second static connection and the third device associated with the that node. In this manner the routing algorithm follows the static connections through each connection's terminating nodes and the associated devices to the desired source 10s. The same process is repeated for each node associated with a given device until either a route to the desired source 10s is identified or a dead-end is found, meaning there are no available connections to follow away from a non-desired device. Upon identifying a dead-end, the algorithm returns to the immediately prior device and evaluates the next unevaluated node available on the immediately prior device until there are no remaining unevaluated nodes on the immediately prior device, at which point the algorithm considers the next prior device. If after traversing all of the connections traveling away from the output 10o and being unable to identify a route to the desired source 10s, the routing algorithm will determine that no route is available and report the error via an event trigger.

If the algorithm is successful in identifying a route to the desired source 10s, the routing algorithm reports back the desired configuration of static connections, nodes that terminate the static connections, and the devices that are associated with the nodes to be configured in order to create the desired route through the environment. The reported route, including devices and associated nodes to be configured is then marked within the working model to indicate that the reported route, including all nodes and associated devices along the route are included in the identified route and no longer available for other routes, and the working model properly reflect the dedication of a portion of the environment to route. The identified route is then passed to the application service 306 that issues the commands using the environment model and device driver details to the devices 270 and the associated nodes to establish the route in the second exemplary environment 1000.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY Control of Multiple Audio Visual Components

The present system and method disclosed herein in embodiments for use with presentation environments 110 possesses a multiple capabilities to perform a plurality tasks. Specifically the system and method enables the management of complex connections between the devices, including sources and output devices 270 of A/V data and enables the control of devices, including sources and output devices 270 of A/V data and other presentation environment 110 environmental devices 142 without requiring full configuration paths for all the equipment. Second, the system and method auto-generates user interfaces with appropriate controls for a given presentation environment 110 based on the types of devices 270 and environmental devices 142 available. Third the system and method enables control of specific scenes and presentation control to allow complex multitasking and integration of multiple devices 270 and controls 142 to act in concert with a mere press of a button to configure a presentation environment 110. The self-generating user interface enables the server 100 to connect with a variety of different control clients 102, including those that have never connected to a particular environment before, and provide a user interface tailored for the presentation environment 110 to be controlled. Finally, since the system and method is based on a client server architecture with access and communication through standard computer networks, such as IP based networks like the Internet, the server 100 can be located in any geographic location with no impact on the control of a given presentation environment 110 thus enabling centralized management, portability, transportability, and consistent user interface across an entire enterprise. These specific capabilities enabled by embodiments of the present system and method and others inherent within the system and method disclosed are obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art and this listing is merely provided as a non-exhaustive set of examples.

Control of Integrated Building Systems

Yet another exemplary application of the present system for managing, routing and controlling devices in an environment is to control the various devices 270, environmental devices 142 present in an integrated building. In this application the system is used to direct the operation of specific devices 270 in the environment, including sources 10s such as chillers to produce cool air or a dehumidifier that reduces the relative humidity content of air present in a heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system. The system directs the operation of the sources 10s to generate conditioned air, then various switches 10i, or flow control devices such as controllable dampers and mixers are used to mix and distribute the conditioned air through a system of physical connections, static connections, or more generally links present the environment (e.g. ducts or pipes) for distribution to specific output devices located in the areas to accept the conditioned air. The effect of the distribution of the conditioned air is then monitored by communication with environmental device 142 sensors located in the environment that monitor the environment. In a similar manner the system is able to connect the environment devices 142 actuators present in the environment to change the overall characteristics of the building, such as adjusting lighting in response to ambient light sensors or automatically dimming windows in response to direct sunlight. Similar control can be applied other building systems, including security, fire and safety and other building systems.

Control of Flexible Manufacturing and Process Equipment

In still another exemplary embodiment, the present system for managing, routing and controlling devices is used to control systems and equipment present in a flexible manufacturing facility or chemical process facility. In a flexible manufacturing environment there are multiple devices that are classified as sources 10s capable of generating a partial or fully completed product or intermediary product. These sources 10s need commands to provide or start their respective process of generating product. The resulting product then is routed between other devices 270, that can simultaneously operate as both consumer devices or outputs 10o and sources 10s—namely by accepting partially completed product, performing additional operations, and then outputting the transformed product to another output 10o. In this manner the system treats the source 10s, outputs 10s, and combined source and output devices present in a facility as any other sources 10s to be controlled and the product is routed between the devices by commanding switches 10i manifest as switching equipment, pipe valves, diverters, flexible conveyor belts or semi-autonomous skillets to establish connections or links between the desired sources 10s and consumer or output 10o devices and establish links to route the product between devices. In a similar manner, various sensors for detecting and evaluating the quality of the product provides feedback to the system during operation allowing corrective action to be taken if necessary. In a manufacturing environment sensors environment devices 142 include: temperature sensor, pressure sensor, flow-rate sensor, accelerometer, humidity sensor, radio frequency identification tag reader, finger-print scanner, optical scanner, proximity detector, spectrometer, load sensor, force sensor, and ultrasonic sensor.

CONCLUSION

While various embodiments of the present system and method for controlling devices and environments have been described above, it should be understood that the embodiments have been presented by the way of example only, and not limitation. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above described exemplary embodiments. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for controlling an environment, comprising: a server configured to host a database that includes information describing a set of static connections and information describing a set of adaptable nodes and that is further configured to run a scheduling service; a control client that is configured to control at least one output device within the environment and to communicate with the scheduling service; a control client web application including one or more components configured to render a user interface on the control client, a control switch that is configured to communicate with the control client; and an output device configurator that is configured to send a request to access the output device to the scheduling service and through the control switch, to send configuration information to the output device, and to send control information to the output device, wherein the scheduling service is configured to manage availability of the output device for access and the output device is locked to the control client to prevent any other second control client from controlling the at least one output device. 